The Secret Riddle
by MorningSkies
Summary: Follow Carina Lestrange- daughter of Bellatrix- as she escapes Malfoy Manor for Hogwarts and befriends Harry, Ron and Hermione along the way. But Carina has a lot of questions. How can she speak Parseltongue? And why is Albus Dumbledore paying her such close attention? Soon she will have to choose her side. Eventual Harry/ OC (Voldemort's daughter) and Ron/ Hermione
1. Year One: Part One

**_A/N I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY OF THE HARRY POTTER CHARACTERS. QUOTES BELOW FROM THE BOOKS ARE NOT MINE._**

* * *

 _'_ _Bella, think this through, please!'_

 _'_ _I have Cissy! This is what I have to do!'_

 _Narcissa pulled at her long, blonde hair in desperation. She had to convince her sister, had to make her see reason. This was folly. Absolute madness._

 _'_ _Bella, it's over! Why can't you see that?'_

 _'_ _It's not over while I'm still around,' said Bellatrix dramatically. She swung a travelling clock over her shoulders and made for the door._

 _Her sister moved to block the exit._

 _Bellatrix laughed harshly. 'Cissy, if you think I won't make you move, you really do not know me.'_

 _'_ _But Bella, what good will it do? The Longbottoms might not even know anything about him.'_

 _Bellatrix shrugged. 'Perhaps. I shall have to find out, shan't I? Don't you, worry, dear sister, Rodolphus and the others will help me. We'll find out what they know.'_

 _'_ _Rodolphus?' asked Cissy in bewilderment. 'How could Rodolphus possibly want anything to do with this? After what's happened, after what you've done? After-'_

 _But she fell silent at the look on Bellatrix's face._

 _'_ _Now, listen here Cissy. You are not to mention that ever. Do you understand? Do you understand what danger you put us in? Do you?'_

 _Narcissa nodded and, sensing victory, Bellatrix moved towards the door._

 _This was her last chance, Narcissa realised. Her last chance to stop her sister getting herself into even more trouble than she was already in._

 _'_ _Bella, please. There's still hope. You won't have to go to Azkaban. Lucius didn't, did he? He managed to find a way.'_

 _Bellatrix revolved on the spot and laughed, with more than a hint of mania to her voice. 'Cissy, don't you dare compare me to your cowardly, traitorous husband. I will not cower to the Ministry and buy my freedom. I will not betray my beliefs. I will not betray Him.'_

 _Her hand was on the door now, so Narcissa threw one last roll of the dice._

 _'_ _And what about_ her _? What happens to Carina when you're locked up in Azkaban with the key thrown away.'_

 _Bellatrix turned back to face her sister. 'You know what you have to do Narcissa. I've told you.'_

 _'_ _I can't!'_

 _'_ _You must. If you do not, the consequences will be severe.'_

 _And with that, Bellatrix Lestrange strode out of the house into the waiting night._

...

 ** _Ten Years Later_**

Carina Lestrange arrived at King's Cross on 1st September, excited and apprehensive just like every other new student.

Except, perhaps she was a little bit more excited, and certainly a lot more apprehensive, than the average eleven year old. Unlike most of the others starting Hogwarts today, Carina had more baggage than just an incredibly heavy trunk: her Death Eater parents, currently at the Ministry's pleasure in Azkaban; an over- privileged cousin who seemed confident that they would both end up in Slytherin together; and an uncle who was strutting along complaining furiously about Muggles.

'I see this place is as filthy as ever,' muttered Lucius Malfoy, as he pushed his son and niece's luggage on a trolley. 'Why we have to skulk through this Muggle dump in secrecy is beyond me. Oh, if only-'

Carina's uncle tailed off, clearly lost in lovely fantasies about the state of the world had Voldemort won the First War. As usual, Lucius conveniently ignored the fact that he had begged, bribed and practically sold his soul in order to avoid imprisonment when the Dark Lord had fallen a decade ago.

That was Lucius Malfoy through and through. He spent half of his time complaining about the Ministry, Dumbledore and generally anyone connected with the defeat of his old master, and the other half greasing palms and bullying his way into societal prominence. It didn't really matter to Lucius if the Dark side was in charge or not- he still had an uncanny ability to worm his way into the right place.

'Oh, yes, I quite agree, dear,' murmured Narcissa.

Carina's blood aunt walked a few steps behind her husband, keeping close to their beloved son, Draco. Narcissa was a very pretty woman in her early thirties. She had long blonde hair and startling blue eyes. Had she not always walked around with a turned up nose and a displeased expression on her face, she would have turned heads wherever she went.

The quartet weaved their way through the crowds of King's Cross, attracting a lot of glances thanks to the two large trunks and pair of noisy owls. One woman seemed ready to approach them with a reprimand about animal cruelty, but she fell silent at the look on Lucius' face.

Secretly, Carina found it an unnecessary security risk that so many witches and wizards passed through one of London's busiest stations at the same time on the same day every year, but she would never have said as much to Lucius. The two of them disagreed about politics and Muggles and pretty much every topic under the sun on a regular basis. So she didn't want him to think they had any common ground.

Not that he ever shouted at her, or even openly disagreed with her. Whenever Carina said something remotely controversial in Malfoy Manor, Lucius and Narcissa simply remained quiet and seemed to pretend as though Carina was not there. It was incredibly annoying.

The four of them reached the barrier. Lucius gave a bored look around and then gestured to Carina and Draco. 'You two go first, then.'

Carina glanced at her cousin, who looked back nervously. At the same time, they leant forward and fell through the solid wall into nothingness.

A great, gleaming steam train rose above them. It was scarlet red and emblazoned with _HOGWARTS EXPRESS._ There was a great deal of commotion all along the platform. A variety of pets were making a lot of noise, parents were exchanging emotional goodbyes with their children and, near the barrier, a kind-faced woman was attacking a tall, ginger boy's nose with a handkerchief.

Carina looked around, taking it all in. She grinned to herself. A few more minutes and she was off to Hogwarts, the place she had dreamed about for years. The beginning of the rest of her life.

Behind her, Lucius and Narcissa had joined them on the platform. The two of them were fusing around Draco. Narcissa was straightening his robes and smiling in a sickening kind of way. The three of them were the perfect picture of family pride on the child's first day of school.

As usual, Carina felt very separate from them. She supposed that they were her family- Narcissa was her mother's sister after all- but it had never felt that way. Carina didn't even look like the rest of them. All three Malfoys were pale and blonde with light eyes. Carina might have matched their pale skin, but her hair was thick, black and long. Her eyes were a completely different shape and very dark. None of this particularly bothered her. On the contrary, looking as little like the Malfoys as possible was something she took personal pride in.

'Carina.' Narcissa was beckoning her over to them. Carina moved back towards the group with slight reluctance.

'Now, you have a good term,' smiled Narcissa to Carina, although her eyes kept flicking back to Draco instead.

Lucius echoed the sentiment and nodded to her. Carina supposed this was the extent of the goodbye she could expect.

Lucius had already levitated all the luggage into a rack in one of the carriages, so Carina seized the chance to escape. She waved a half-hearted goodbye to her aunt and uncle, and left them to resume their fusing over the prodigal son that was Draco.

Carina by-passed the mother and her red-haired son. They had now been joined by a pair of ginger twins who were chattering excitedly to their mother.

 _'_ _Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?'_

The mother looked stern and began to berate the twins about something, but Carina barely registered the next part of their conversation as she climbed onboard the train. So there it was, Voldemort mentioned already. She'd been on the platform for, what, five minutes? Not even at school yet and already people were talking about him. She knew they would, obviously. But a small part of Carina had dared hope that, somehow, they might not. That none of that mattered anymore. Well, that obviously wasn't going to happen. She would simply be Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange's daughter. Case closed.

Carina sighed in frustration and made her way down the carriage walkway, searching for an empty compartment. She found one in the next carriage along and settled herself into the window seat, torn between wanting someone to come in and talk to her and wanting to be left alone for the whole journey.

She dug into the book bag that had stayed with her and pulled out a copy of _Hogwarts: A History._ It wasn't on the first years' reading list but Carina had devoured the set texts within three days of buying them in Diagon Alley. She'd 'liberated' this one from Malfoy Manor's vast library, knowing full well that Lucius would not notice it was missing. He rarely picked up a book for actual reading, and simply maintained an extensive collection because it looked impressive to guests.

The train began to move out of the station. Back on the platform, parents were calling and waving to their children, some of whom were leaning out of windows to shout goodbye. Carina ignored them all, feeling irritable, and pressed on with her book.

Carina was half-way through a chapter on different heads of the school, when the compartment door slid open. To her dismay, it was Draco, accompanied by two human boulders that she recognised as Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. The two boys were occasional guests at the Manor, sometimes visiting with their parents when Lucius felt like a Death Eater reunion and a good old showing off. Crabbe and Goyle were from pureblood families that had lost their wealth generations ago and descended into financial ruin. They kept up a blood purity obsession to make themselves feel superior to other wizards and Lucius, despite supposedly being friends with Crabbe and Goyle's fathers, loved nothing more than the chance to flaunt the Malfoys' continued riches.

Crabbe and Goyle nodded mutely at Carina and took seats opposite one another near the door; she was not entirely sure either of them had mastered speech yet.

Draco, however, sat down across from Carina and gave her a surprised look. 'What are you doing?' he gestured to the book and screwed up his nose in an uncanny impression of Narcissa.

Sighing, Carina marked her page and closed the book. 'This is what we call reading, Draco.'

He gave her a rather scathing look and his cheekbones flushed slightly. 'I know what a book is. What I mean is, why are you sitting on your own reading when you could be talking to actual people?'

Carina glanced between her cousin and Crabbe and Goyle, both of whom were watching the exchange with their mouths open. It was not a good look and merely added to their aura of troll.

'You mean like this riveting conversation you're having?'

Draco ignored the slight. 'So what's the plan then, Carina, get sorted into Hufflepuff?'

Carina shrugged unconcernedly. As long as she was in a different House to her dearest cousin, the Sorting Hat could stick her where it liked.

Disappointed by her lack of reaction, Draco tried a different tactic. 'I bet you'll befriend the first Mudblood you can find, just for the sake of it, won't you?'

Either Crabbe or Goyle laughed sycophantically. Carina wasn't sure which one it was since they both looked so similar, so to be safe she gave them both a look that made them quickly shut up.

She had learnt a long time ago that the most effective way to wind Draco up was to simply ignore him and not give him the reaction he so desired. It was very satisfying. So, rather than shoot back with a retort, Carina picked up her book in one hand, swung her bag over her shoulder with the other, and left the compartment. Behind her, Draco muttered something about 'drama queens.'

Carina walked a few feet down the train so that she was out of Draco's line of vision, and leant back against a window. She flicked _Hogwarts: A History_ back open but had barely read one page before a new voice appeared.

'Oh, isn't that a _fantastic_ book? I bought it back in Diagon Alley, just so I could learn some more about Hogwarts. I've been trying to learn as much as I can about as many topics as possible. It'll be good to be prepared before classes start, won't it? I heard a rumour back in the Leaky Cauldron that they start us off with a test, just to check we've been through the reading list properly. I've learnt them off by heart of course, in case that's true. Well, I suppose we'll find out soon, won't we?'

Carina lifted her book away from her face, to see a girl of a similar age beaming enthusiastically up at her. She was a couple of inches shorter than Carina and had a lot of rather bushy brown hair. She had said everything very quickly.

Feeling they should start at the beginning, Carina held out her hand. 'I'm Carina.'

The girl shook it vigorously. 'I'm Hermione Granger.' And without giving Carina the chance to get a word in edgeways, she was off again. 'I'm the first one in my family to come to Hogwarts, you know? I've always done weird things as a girl, but we never had any clue that it was magic! Mum and Dad were thrilled when we found out.'

Carina couldn't help but smile at the excitement on Hermione's face.

'Well, nice to meet you, Hermione.'

The other girl looked as though she was about to say something else, but they were interrupted by the arrival of a plump boy with a tear-stained face. He was shuffling down the corridor, looking very sorry for himself.

'Are you okay?' asked Carina. She didn't want to judge people right away, but the boy looked like a prime target for any bullying that might go on at Hogwarts.

The boy sniffed loudly. 'I've lost Trevor!'

Who or what Trevor was, Carina didn't find out because the boy wailed loudly and covered his face with his hands.

'Is Trevor your friend?' asked Hermione, sounding business-like rather than sympathetic.

The boy shook his head and looked at her. 'He's my pet toad. My uncle bought him as a present. Oh Gran is going to be so angry...'

Carina cut him off before he could start crying again. 'Look, I can help you find him if you want. He'll be on the train somewhere.'

The boy nodded and sniffed. 'Thanks.'

'I'll come too,' announced Hermione, bossily. 'Let's work our way down the train and ask after him in all the compartments.'

To Carina's relief, she headed in the opposite direction to Draco's compartment. Carina was not remotely bothered that her cousin might laugh at her for her choice of travel companions. But she was concerned that he might be particularly rude to a crying boy searching for a toad, and an enthusiastic girl who was quite clearly Muggleborn.

The trio checked in a few of compartments but were greeted with blank faces and, in some cases, amusement that they were even bothering to look for a missing toad in the first place.

'So, what's your name?' Carina asked the round-faced boy as they left their fifth compartment.

'Neville,' he sniffed. 'Neville Longbottom. What about you?'

It was like someone pouring a bucket of boiling hot water over Carina's head. Her heart pounded impossibly fast.

Lucius might never have openly told Draco and Carina about what exactly he'd gotten up to during his Death Eater days, but he hadn't made much of an effort to shield them either. For her own part, Carina had found out as much as possible about her parents' past through recent history books and old newspaper articles.

And now, it was her first day of school and she'd ran into a boy whose parents had been brutally tortured by her own.

Thanks, Mum and Dad, she thought furiously.

Luckily, Neville didn't seem to notice anything strange in her reaction, and she was able to quickly mutter 'I'm Carina' without anything seeming amiss.

Still furiously thinking about her parents and the situation they had forced her into, Carina followed Hermione into another compartment at the end of the carriage.

It was quieter than most of the others, only occupied by two boys.

One was slight with a lot of messy black hair, the other lanky and ginger with a long nose. They had the distinctive look of first years- excitement and nerves- and were eating their way through what seemed to be most of the food trolley.

'Can we help?' asked the red-haired boy, giving them a bit of a look.

Hermione was talking before either Carina or Neville could so much as open their mouths.

'Have you seen a toad? Neville here has lost his.'

'No, sorry,' the ginger boy shrugged.

The other boy looked up at them to say that he hadn't either, but suddenly Carina's mind was far from toads.

 _Harry Potter!_

He had to be. He had the scar and everything, even though it was partially hidden by his very untidy hair.

Hermione, meanwhile, was introducing the three of them to the two new boys.

'...I'm Hermione Granger, this is Neville Longbottom and- sorry Carina, what was your surname?'

Feeling as though everything was going to come out soon enough anyway, Carina threw caution to the wind. 'Lestrange.'

The effect was predictable and instantaneous: the ginger boy poked himself in the eye with a liquorice wand, and then tried to pass it off as though nothing had happened; Neville yelped and gave a strange jerk as though hit by a bolt of electricity; and Hermione openly stared at Carina as though she were a particularly interesting book.

Only Harry Potter had not reacted at all. In fact, he was looking around the compartment in confusion at what he had missed.

Neville shuffled awkwardly from one foot to the other.

'I might erm… well I think Trevor maybe ended up at the back of the train... I think I'll go and look for him.'

With a quick glance at Carina, Neville shuffled out of the door and hurried along the corridor with surprising speed.

'What's his problem?' asked the redhead in surprise, as though he had not just almost given himself a black eye with a sweet. 'I'm Ron by the way. Ron Weasley.'

Carina smiled weakly and collapsed into a seat by the door. If she made it through the first week of school without having some kind of nervous breakdown, it would be a miracle.

'Harry,' said Harry.

Hermione, who continued to hover in the doorway, tore her eyes away from Carina and looked at Harry instead.

'You're very famous, you know. I've read all about you in...'

She reeled off a list of books that mentioned Harry Potter. Meanwhile, The Boy Who Lived looked increasingly apprehensive. Carina wondered how much he was aware of his celebrity; according to Lucius, he had been sent to live with Muggles for the past ten years.

'Well, I better go and help Neville,' said Hermione. 'Are you coming Carina?'

'No, I think I might stay here actually. I'll see you a bit later.' If Neville didn't want to be around her at the moment then she was most certainly not going to force her company on him.

'Alright then.'

Hermione said goodbye and strode off down the train after Neville.

Ron raised an eyebrow to Harry. 'I better not be in her house.'

'She's quite nice actually,' said Carina.

Ron looked at her awkwardly, as though he wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to put it.

'Yes, my parents are Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange,' sighed Carina. 'Yes, they're in Azkaban for murdering, torturing and other horrific crimes. No, I don't admire them, or miss them, or have any contact with them. Any more questions?'

Ron's mouth hung open for a few moments. 'No, no questions.' He mumbled finally.

The compartment door slid open again. It was not, however, Hermione or Neville returning. Instead, Draco stood there, flanked on either side by Crabbe and Goyle.

Carina sighed in frustration and leant her head back against her seat.

'What do you want, Draco? Bored without someone to taunt?'

Draco glanced from Carina to Harry to Ron, and then back again.

'Is it true?' he said. 'They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter is in this compartment. So, it's you, is it?'

'Yes,' said Harry.

Draco raised an eyebrow at Carina. 'Making friends?'

'Is that what you call them?' asked Carina, gesturing at Crabbe and Goyle. 'I thought the word you used was bodyguards.'

Ron laughed loudly and Draco turned his attention to him.

'Well well, you must be a Weasley. Yes, I've heard all about you. More children than your parents can afford apparently.'

'Get out, Draco,' snapped Carina, giving her cousin a look that bored into him.

Draco hesitated for a moment and then smirked. 'No, I don't think I will actually. You see we've eaten our food but you seem to have a lot left.'

Goyle lumbered over towards Harry and Ron's pile of sweets. Ron made a furious movement towards him but, before he got there, Goyle was suddenly jumping back, howling.

A very fat rat was dangling from the end of his finger. Goyle howled in pain and swung his hand through the air until the rat fell off.

All three of them laughed as Draco, Crabbe and Goyle hurried from the compartment. For quite a while they didn't stop laughing; it was a very nice feeling, sitting there with new friends, laughing at Draco.

A few minutes later, Ron wiped his eyes and pulled himself together.

'You know Malfoy? Poor you!'

'He's my cousin,' grimaced Carina. 'Our mothers are sisters and I've lived with them since I was a baby.'

Ron looked horrified but Harry grinned. 'Wow. Didn't expect to meet someone who made the Dursleys look like kind and friendly people.'

'Who are they?' asked Carina.

Harry pulled a face. 'Aunt Petunia's my Mum's sister. I've lived with them for as long as I can remember. God, I hated it there.'

Carina laughed. 'Well I didn't expect to bond with a new friend over horrible families.'

The next couple of hours passed quickly. Carina remained in the compartment with Harry and Ron- her book lay forgotten.

They talked about everything under the sun, from Quidditch (which she and Ron had to explain to an agog Harry) to Albus Dumbledore. Ron was just telling them about his father's job at the Ministry, when Hermione reappeared to tell them they'd better put their robes on because they were arriving soon.

Sure enough, a short while later and the train slowed to a halt. They all clambered onto the platform, by which point Carina's stomach was full of butterflies. This was it- Hogwarts!

'First years over here!'

A giant of a man, holding a lamp and wearing an enormous coat with at least twenty pockets, was beckoning them over.

Ron gulped audibly but Harry hurried over to greet the man.

'Alright Harry?' said the giant.

Carina and Ron stood back slightly as Harry spoke back to the man. Other first years grouped around them, waiting for further instruction.

The man turned his beetle eyes on them.

'Hello, the name's Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds here at Hogwarts.'

He smiled happily down at them all. Some of them smiled back, most looked very apprehensive. Carina noticed Draco laughing about something with Crabbe and Goyle; she glared at him through the crowd.

'Right, this way to the boats!'

Hagrid held his lamp high in one hand to light the path. Although that was hardly necessary since he towered over them all so much.

Carina, Harry and Ron walked near him, taking three steps for one of Hagrid's enormous strides.

'Made friends already, Harry?' asked Hagrid approvingly, as he glanced down at Carina and Ron.

Carina was just about to introduce herself when Hagrid caught her eye first. A strange expression passed over his face. He looked quite taken aback by something. Just as Carina was feeling quite disconcerted, Hagrid blinked several times and looked away. He shook his head reassuringly as one might do if they'd seen a trick of the light.

No one else noticed anything.

Hagrid led them out onto the lake where a small fleet of boats were awaiting their arrival. As soon as the students grouped up and climbed aboard, they magically set off, gliding across the lake.

It was undoubtedly cold, but there was something quite wonderful about this mode of transport. They passed through the grounds as Hogwarts loomed before them, a splendid castle of twinkling lights and soaring turrets. Many students gasped aloud at the sight, and Hermione could be heard talking about something she'd read about the castle.

Once they'd climbed back onto dry land and made their way up to Hogwarts, a stern looking woman wearing emerald greeted them.

While they were waiting to enter the Hall, Harry and Ron were becoming quite nervous, speculating wildly about what they might be expected to do next.

'You do know you just have to try on a Hat, don't you?'

'A Hat?' Ron looked both furious and immensely relieved. 'I'm going to kill Fred. He was going on about having to wrestle a troll!'

Carina laughed, wondering why on earth she wasn't nervous about the Sorting herself.

She'd spent the last few weeks losing sleep over the thought of Slytherin. Many a night, Carina had woken in a panic, her dreams punctuated by green ties and dungeon common rooms. She knew, deep down, that she was nothing like her parents. But what if her shining traits were best suited to Slytherin? It would be confirmation that she truly was her mother's daughter.

And, yet, as she waited by the doors of the Great Hall, Carina found that all of the worry had left her. She felt only excitement.

With a final glance around the group, Professor McGonagall pushed open the doors and ushered the new first years inside.

'The ceiling is bewitched to look like the night sky!' Hermione had reappeared next to Carina as they strode down the Hall, past all the house tables together. 'That's in _Hogwarts: A History_ , you know.'

The first years reached the top of the Hall, just before the teacher's table. Everyone was suddenly very quiet, even Hermione. Judging by Draco's flushed cheeks and darting eyes, he too was nervous. Carina took sadistic pleasure in the thought of him not ending up in Slytherin. Obviously he would- he was such a sneaky git, he'd never be put in any other house- but it was a nice thought nonetheless.

One by one the students, were called up to try on the famous Sorting Hat. Hermione- who had gone very pale and quiet by the time her name was read out- was placed in Gryffindor.

A few more first years took their turn, and then, suddenly, 'Carina Lestrange.'

She certainly wasn't imagining it- as Carina walked up to the Hat with her head held high, a quick bout of whispering flew through the Hall.

Carina ignored it and picked up the Hat. Her nerves had returned now; the confidence she'd felt not long ago had gone.

She sat down and began to apprehensively lower the Hat towards her head.

'GRYFFINDOR!'

Carina blinked and looked around in surprise.

The Hat had barely touched the topmost hairs on her head!

She jumped up with enthusiasm, practically threw the Hat back onto the stool, and hurried over to the table which had exploded with applause.

'Well done!' exclaimed Hermione, as Carina squeezed in next to her on the bench.

A short while later and they had been joined by Harry and Ron, the latter of whom was looking very pale beneath his freckles. Harry just kept grinning to himself.

'Hello, I'm Pavarti.'

A pretty girl with lots of dark hair pulled back into a plait leaned over to introduce herself to Carina and Hermione. She gestured at another girl on her right. 'This is Lavender.'

Carina introduced herself but, while Hermione struck up conversation with their new housemates, Carina found herself scanning the staff table.

There was Albus Dumbledore himself, bedecked in magnificent purple robes. Was it her imagination or did he glance over in Carina's direction?

Hagrid was a few seats down, drinking wine from the largest glass Carina had ever seen. The professor who had overseen the Sorting was there too, talking to a small witch with a grubby hat pushed down over fly-away hair.

'Who's that?' asked Harry suddenly.

Carina followed his line of vision towards a pale man in his thirties with greasy hair.

'Professor Severus Snape,' she murmured back. 'My uncle talks about him sometimes.'

'He just looked at me as if he really hated me,' frowned Harry.

Carina considered the matter. 'Well, if he knows Lucius Malfoy, he's probably up to his nose in the Dark Arts. You did sort of kill their leader, remember?'

If Snape had been staring at Harry, he wasn't any more. He was talking to the teacher next to him, although neither of them looked particularly interested in what the other was saying.

The second professor- a pale, young man in an absurd purple turban- suddenly broke off from Snape and looked directly at Carina. It took her by such surprise that she jumped slightly and spilt pumpkin juice all over Hermione's arm.

'Hey!'

'Sorry,' muttered Carina, recovering herself. She handed Hermione a spare napkin and chanced another glance up at the staff table.

The turbaned man was still staring right at her. She maintained eye contact for perhaps a minute or so, until Snape asked the professor something and he quickly looked away. Carina kept an eye out during the rest of the feast but he didn't look in her direction again.

At the end of the meal, one of the Gryffindor prefects- who, it turned out, was a brother of Ron's- jumped up and started bossily directing the first years.

Carina got up and followed the others out into the Entrance Hall, where there was something of a bottleneck as so many students tried to get to their common rooms.

'Excellent food,' moaned Ron, rubbing his stomach as they waited for some space to clear. Hermione rolled her eyes and looked faintly disgusted.

Unsurprisingly, it didn't take Draco long to hunt Carina out.

'Well haven't you made the family proud?' he whispered, on his way down to the dungeons.

'Shove off, Malfoy,' said Ron, who was standing close enough to hear the exchange.

'Yeah, we've still got Scabbers if you want a bite to match Goyle's' added Harry.

Carina turned away and ignored her cousin, who stalked off looking moody.

However, as she watched him push his way through the crowds of students, almost knocking a couple of first year Hufflepuffs to the ground, Carina's temper got the better of her.

Discreetly, so that Percy Weasley- who was hovering around trying to clear a path to the staircase- wouldn't notice, she pulled her wand out of her robes. Directing it at Draco's retreating form, Carina muttered the incantation so quietly that not even Ron or Harry could hear her.

Draco had just reached the top of the steps that led down to the dungeons, when his legs started dancing of their own accord. He grabbed onto Goyle to try and stop himself falling, but his legs were moving so quickly that there was no stopping the momentum. Draco bumped his way down the stairs, landing at the bottom with dishevelled hair and a flaming red face.

'No magic in the corridors!' bellowed Percy.

But the Entrance Hall was so packed there was no chance of identifying the culprit.

'Was that you?' gasped Ron quietly.

'Brilliant!' muttered Harry, grinning at the sight of Draco picking himself up from the floor and looking distinctly rumpled.

'Hmph,' said Hermione, as they finally started to move up the staircase.

'Problem?' asked Ron.

'Magic is not allowed in the corridors,' she informed Carina. 'Besides, his back was turned. It was hardly fair.'

'Fair?' spluttered Ron. 'He's a pure blood maniac. His whole family are shady! No offence, Carina.'

'None taken.'

The four of them made their way up to Gryffindor Tower with the rest of the first years. Ron and Hermione bickered for most of journey.

By the time they reached the portrait hole that concealed their common room, Carina was feeling the prickling of shame wash over her. Maybe Hermione had been right- it did seem a bit unsporting to jinx someone when their back was turned.

It had just been so tempting though. Draco spent most of his life trying to provoke a reaction out of her, and she was better at magic than him. She'd known that before they'd even bought their wands.

Back in the Manor, Draco had been the typical pre-Hogwarts wizard, making things fly around the room and causing accidents when he was feeling particularly emotional. But Carina had been different somehow. She'd never done magic accidentally because it had always been something she could control. Yet, sometimes magic had saved her from sticky situations without her intending it to. One time, she had been running around the cliffs high above a beach. It had been slippery and raining and she'd lost her footing. But Carina hadn't hurt herself at all. She'd fallen right off the cliff and landed smoothly on her feet on the sand. She bet that a lot of fully-grown witches couldn't do that.

Still, said a small voice in her head, just because she could use magic against Draco, didn't mean she should.

After Percy had pointed out the features of the common room, the first year girls split off from the boys and headed up to their dormitory. Carina and Hermione were joined by Lavender and Pavarti, the two girls who had introduced themselves at dinner. They each grabbed a bed and quickly got changed into pyjamas.

Carina, for one, was feeling exhausted after the day. She climbed into her four poster bed, and smiled happily at just how comfy it was.

'Shall I turn the lights out?' asked Pavarti. 'We should get some sleep before tomorrow.'

The others murmured their agreement and settled down to sleep.

Carina lay back against her pillows, staring up at the canopy. _Gryffindor._

If only there was a way to let her mother know exactly where she was now. Oh, that would be satisfying. To have Bellatrix Lestrange, all the way out in Azkaban, know that her only daughter had defied the pureblood mania and made it to Gryffindor.

Carina smiled at the thought.

'I wonder if we'll have a test tomorrow morning,' muttered Hermione, long after Carina thought the others to have fallen asleep.

She grinned to herself, rolled over onto her side, and fell into the deepest sleep she'd had in a while.

* * *

 **Thank you so much for choosing to read my first chapter!**

 **I've been wanting to write a Harry Potter/ Voldemort's daughter story for so long but just couldn't figure out how to do it. I was thinking about using Delphi Riddle but I didn't want to have to bring her back to Harry's school year etc. So just thought I'd make my own OC.**

 **I really appreciate feedback so please leave me a review, even if it's a very short one!**

 **And thanks again for reading!**

 **:)**


	2. Year One: Part Two

It didn't take long for Hogwarts to feel more like home than Malfoy Manor ever had.

It wasn't that Lucius and Narcissa mistreated Carina. On the contrary, she had a very large bedroom of her own, and had certainly never gone without in a material sense. The Malfoys were rolling in gold and had never been stingy with either Carina or Draco.

But, despite all that, Carina had never felt especially wanted by her aunt or uncle. She was nothing but a burden.

She knew what Lucius and Narcissa really thought: the Lestranges had selfishly landed themselves in prison without giving a thought about their relatives having to look after Carina. Carina was the odd one out in the house, the intruder to their perfect family life. She had never felt anything but distance from them.

But now there was Hogwarts, and it was so much more than she'd even imagined it to be.

Classes started the day after the welcome feast and, so far, Carina was finding them fascinating. She had made a habit of sitting next to Hermione, which was handy since they seemed to be the only two who could make it through History of Magic without falling asleep. Although this did mean that Ron regularly pestered Carina for her notes in the evenings (Hermione was the only other note-taker in class, and she had made it very clear that no one could expect help from her if they'd spent the lesson snoozing.)

Potions was probably the worst of the bunch. Professor Snape prowled the dungeon classroom like a prison warden, determined to catch people out. Neville and Harry got the worst of his ire, and both had come to hate the lesson and its teacher. Granted, Snape was not quite as disdainful towards Carina as he was with the other Gryffindors, but he did always seem faintly amused at the sight of her sitting amongst her housemates.

Still, Carina didn't let this bother her too much. She was having to put up with regular whispers in the corridors as well, but was determined not to let it get to her. It seemed that having both The Boy Who Lived and the only child of the two most infamous Death Eaters in one school year was too much for the gossip-mongers of Hogwarts.

For the first couple of weeks, rumours and whispers followed Harry and Carina wherever they went, particularly if they happened to be together.

'People just can't understand why you're friends,' explained Ron, as the three of them walked down past the vegetable patch on their way to Herbology.

They'd just encountered a trio of Ravenclaw third years who had pointed and talked quite openly about Harry and Carina as they passed.

Harry looked bemused. 'Until a couple of months ago, I had no idea who You Know Who or Death Eaters were! I'm hardly going to judge someone on being related to them!'

'Thanks, Harry,' Carina grinned at him.

She didn't care what some stupid third year Ravenclaws thought. But she was pleased that her new friends thought all the whispering and gossip to be ridiculous.

/

'First flying lesson, today,' Ron reminded them happily one morning.

Carina had just come down from Gryffindor Tower with Hermione and taken a seat opposite Harry and Ron at breakfast. Hermione- who had had a bickering contest with Ron the previous evening over him trying to sneak a look at her Charms essay- pointedly ignored the boys and hid herself behind a large book.

Ron rolled his eyes and helped himself to more sausages. 'Come on, you must be excited, Harry.'

'Yeah, I can't wait to make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy.' He glared darkly at the Slytherin table where Draco was holding court.

Carina looked over at him in annoyance. If possible, Draco had become even more insufferable over the past couple of weeks. He was now ignoring her entirely- having correctly guessed that she was responsible for the embarrassing jinx on their first evening - but apparently could not resist the urge to wind up Harry and Ron whenever he saw them.

Carina turned back to the Gryffindor table unconcerned, and poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice.

'Oh, he's not as good as he makes out, don't worry.'

'I heard he's got the new Comet?' asked Ron in a would-be-casual voice. The tips of his ears were slightly red.

'Doesn't mean he can ride it,' Carina pointed out.

Ron looked happier at this and started tucking into his sausages with enthusiasm.

They were soon joined by Neville, who squeezed in next to Carina and said a quiet hello to them all. Neville had not mentioned his reaction to hearing Carina's surname that first time on the train. The two of them seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement not to discuss the small matter of Carina's parents having tortured Neville's mother and father into insanity.

'What's the matter, Neville?' asked Harry.

'Flying,' he muttered quietly.

Unlike Ron, who was now on his third helping of breakfast, Neville did not seem to have an appetite. He pushed some eggs and bacon around his plate without enthusiasm and grew paler by the second.

The sound of a hundred squawking owls proved a welcome distraction. Carina was not expecting any post herself; she had received a short letter from Narcissa at the start of term but had not heard anything since. Nor was she expecting to- no doubt Draco had told his parents all about Carina being Sorted into Gryffindor and befriending a bunch of blood traitors and Muggleborns by now.

'That's a Rememberall!' gasped Hermione, leaning over Carina to get a look at the package Neville was unwrapping. 'When the smoke goes red, you've forgotten something.'

It seemed a fairly flawed invention to Carina. As Neville inspected the small transparent ball, it was obvious that he could not recall what it was that he had forgotten.

Ron looked as though he was resisting the urge to laugh. Instead, he helped himself to yet another sausage sandwich, while Hermione looked on in amazement. 'You eat a lot, don't you?'

'I'm hungry,' said Ron thickly, through a mouthful of bread. 'What's it to you?'

Hermione opened her mouth to snap back when, out of nowhere, a pale hand swooped down and snatched up the Rememberall.

'What's this, Longbottom?'

Harry and Ron leapt to their feet in an instant.

Draco watched them without concern. On either side of him, Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles threateningly.

'Give it back, Draco,' hissed Carina. 'Unless you want to dance around the Hall again.'

Draco reddened but glared back at his cousin furiously. He placed the Rememberall back on the table, and lowered his voice to a whisper. 'You're a blood traitor, Carina. That's what you are. Associating with scum like the Weasleys and Harry Potter.' He smiled maliciously. 'I hope for your sake that Bellatrix and Rodolphus never get out of Azkaban. I don't think they'll be too pleased at how their daughter has been disgracing the family name, do you?'

Carina pulled out her wand before either of the three Slytherins had a chance to even blink.

'Say that again. I dare you.'

'W-w-w-what's going on here?'

Professor Quirrell had appeared at the table, and was looking around curiously at them all. 'Not fighting I hope?'

'She's just threatened me with her wand, Professor,' said Draco quickly.

Quirrell peered round at Carina before she had the chance to put her wand away or look innocent.

'Fighting is not allowed, Miss Lestrange,' he reminded her. 'I'm afraid I will have to put you in detention for this.'

'But Professor, Malfoy started it!' exclaimed Harry.

'He took my Rememberall,' piped up Neville.

Quirrell glanced at the boys and looked nervous. 'Yes, well,' he stuttered. 'Be that as it may, I cannot allow fighting to go unpunished. Please be in my office at 8pm tonight, Miss Lestrange.'

With that, he hurried away back to the staff table, looking very pale.

Once the teacher was safely out of earshot, Draco started smugly gloating. Carina, however, wasn't paying him any attention. Rather, she was watching Quirrell, who had settled himself back into his chair looking very twitchy.

That was the second strange encounter she'd had with the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and she had no clue why.

/

Ron was still furious about Draco and Quirrell as the Gryffindors made their way out to the grounds for their flying lesson, and he wasted no time in making sure everyone knew about it.

'Blatant favouritism,' he complained. 'Malfoy gets away with murder!'

'Slimy git,' added Dean Thomas, who had also seen the exchange over breakfast.

'Now someone just needs to knock him off his broom,' muttered Harry.

'Hmph,' said Hermione.

'I suppose you think I deserve what I got?' asked Carina irritably. She was not pleased that her cousin had got one up on her; she needed to think of some way to settle the score.

'Well, Professor Quirrell was right: fighting is not allowed,' she said in a maddeningly righteous voice.

'Oh come off it, Hermione,' moaned Ron. 'It was hardly fighting. Carina just got her wand out, that's all.'

'Yes, well,' Hermione glanced at Carina nervously. 'I just think that it's not going to help you if you get a reputation for being wand-happy.'

'What do you mean by that?' demanded Carina.

Hermione sighed. 'I mean that people already talk about you everywhere you go. Do you really want them whispering that the Lestranges' daughter is always the first to attack other students?'

Carina was so incensed, she did not talk to Hermione for the rest of the lesson, and took vindictive pleasure when Hermione's broom refused to leave the ground and jump into her hand.

Just as Carina was mounting her own and they were preparing to take off, Madam Hooch started blowing her whistle madly.

'Neville!' gasped Lavender Brown.

Neville had taken off too early in a panic and, once in the air, he didn't seem able to control the broom. He rose slowly up and up for several minutes then lurched forward, slipped off and hit the ground with a nasty thud.

The Gryffindors watched on nervously as Madam Hooch hurried over to help him up.

As the two of them hurried back up to the castle and the hospital wing, Draco sauntered over to where Neville had fallen.

'Give that here,' said Harry angrily.

Draco was holding the Rememberall, tossing it lazily between his hands.

Before anyone really knew what was happening- and with much protest from Hermione- Harry and Draco were suddenly both on their brooms soaring into the air.

'Are they trying to get expelled?' gasped Hermione in outrage.

'Oh shush!' said Ron. 'Look at Harry!'

Dean and Seamus let out loud whoops as Harry shot towards the ground and caught the Rememberall just before it smashed onto the ground. He was very good; had she not known that he lived with muggles, Carina would have thought he'd spent his whole childhood flying.

She and Ron had barely had time to dash over and congratulate Harry when a loud voice cut through the commotion.

'HARRY POTTER!'

Professor McGonagall was striding across the grass, looking angrier than any of them had ever seen her.

'Come with me!'

Carina and the other Gryffindors watched Harry follow McGonagall up to the castle.

'He's a goner!' muttered Seamus.

'She can't expel him for that!' protested Hermione. It was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that neither Carina nor Ron pointed out that Hermione had said quite the opposite a few minutes ago.

Draco was openly laughing with the rest of the Slytherins, apparently very pleased with himself.

'Ignore them,' Ron said to Carina. 'You don't want to get in more trouble.'

It was difficult though, watching the gleeful Slytherins, so happy that one of them had managed to get the famous Harry Potter expelled.

Would McGonagall really do it? They'd only been there a few weeks. Surely Harry would get a second chance?

By the time the class traipsed back up to the castle for their next lesson, Carina's nerves were shredded. Harry did not make an appearance in Charms and, for once, even Hermione was not paying full attention to Professor Flitwick.

After the lesson had finished and it was time for lunch, Carina and Ron had convinced themselves that Harry had been sent home.

'He's a goner,' muttered Ron gloomily as the two of them made their way into the Great Hall. 'Maybe we should go and talk to McGonagall? Tell her what Malfoy did.'

'Ron!' Carina shouted excitedly, pointing down at the Gryffindor table.

Harry was sat there alone, working his way through a large plate of stew, and looking distinctly un-expelled. Carina and Ron rushed over to him and threw themselves into seats.

'What's happened?' demanded Ron anxiously.

Harry glanced around to check no one else was listening. 'Well, I've just been made Gryffindor Seeker. Whatever that means.'

Ron's mouth fell open so quickly that he might have dislocated his jaw.

'Seeker?' He gasped. 'But first years aren't allowed on the team!'

Harry shrugged happily. 'Yeah, McGonagall said something about that. But she definitely said I could play.'

Ron was staring at Harry with a mixture of envy and pride.

'Gryffindor Seeker,' he muttered, helping himself to stew. 'I wasn't expecting this when I got out of bed this morning.'

'Well done, Harry,' said Carina. 'Now the only thing I've got to worry about is detention with Quirrell.'

/

By the time eight o clock approached, Carina was feeling thoroughly sorry for herself. It had not been a great afternoon. Incensed that Harry had somehow escaped punishment, Draco had cornered him and Ron and challenged them to a midnight duel. Carina had missed the exchange, having been in the library finishing the homework she would not have time to do that evening, but had heard all about it thanks to Hermione.

Although not remotely involved in the situation herself, Hermione had been tailing the boys all afternoon, whispering furiously about all the trouble they would be in. When this had no effect, she had tried and failed to get Carina on side. The result was that, by early evening, there was a distinct frostiness between the Gryffindor first years.

Carina didn't think the duel to be a particularly sensible idea- no doubt Draco would be trying to lure them into something- but she had the suspicion that, if she tried to warn Harry and Ron off of it, they would just be more determined to go ahead with it. So, as eight o clock drew near, Carina gave them a final warning to be careful and watch out for Filch, before hurrying off to her detention with Quirrell.

She reached the Defence teacher's office and hesitated for a moment before knocking. There was something about this that Carina couldn't pinpoint. A feeling deep within warned her to not knock, but to run in the opposite direction. Carina shook herself firmly and knocked on the door.

'Enter.'

Carina pushed open the door.

It was a small, dark office, lit only by a couple of flickering oil lamps. A lot of heavy, leather bound books lined the walls, and a too-large-for-the-room desk was squeezed into one corner. Quirrell sat behind the desk, looking even more pale and nervous than usual.

He cleared his throat. 'Good evening, Miss Lestrange.'

'Good evening, Professor,' replied Carina politely.

Quirrell stared silently at her for a few seconds. It was quite disconcerting.

'Miss Lestrange, as you can see, I've got a lot of student work that needs to be sorted by class and name.' Quirrell gestured towards a small coffee table upon which rested a large pile of paperwork. A lone chair sat next to it. 'If you can please get on with that.'

Carina nodded and took a seat at the table. She pulled the first pile of work towards her and noticed that the homework was a complete mixture. The first couple belonged to third years, then one was from a fifth year class, then Carina recognised some names from her own year. She frowned to herself as she set to work? Was it normal for a teacher to let their work fall into such disarray? True, Quirrell was quite a dull teacher from whom they learnt little, but he had never given the impression of such disorganisation before.

There was a feeling that Carina just couldn't shake; had Quirrell merely invented this exercise so he had an excuse to give her attention?

Carina worked through the masses of homework as quickly as she could. Her mind wandered to Harry and Ron, and whether or not they had gone to meet Draco. No doubt Hermione had done her best to stop them.

Carina liked Hermione. She appreciated that, on the Hogwarts Express, Hermione had not judged her for being the Lestranges' daughter. But Carina did find her interferences annoying. Like what Hermione had said about getting a reputation for being wand-happy. It was only her cousin that Carina had jinxed. And Draco had deserved it. Surely no one could hold that against her? A chill spread down Carina's spine: _What if her mother thought the same thing?_

Carina was so lost in her thoughts that, by the time she had finished her work, she was surprised to see that it was almost ten o clock.

'I'm finished, Professor.'

Quirrell jumped at her voice and looked startled, as though he had forgotten someone else was in the room.

'Oh, oh okay. Very good. Please bring them here.'

Carina levitated the piles of paper and landed them neatly on the teacher's desk. Quirrell stared at her. 'Have you been taught Levitation in Charms yet?'

'Oh, erm no, not yet, Professor. I've read the textbooks you see, and I thought I'd just try out some of the spells.'

Quirrell stared at her with interest. 'Well, you don't seem to be having any trouble with them.'

Carina tried to look modest. What was she supposed to say? That she had worked her way through the whole of _The Standard Book of Spells_ and managed all of them without difficulty?

'You live with your aunt and uncle, do you not?' asked Quirrell. 'The Malfoys?'

'Yes, sir,' said Carina, wondering why on earth Quirrell was interested in her home life.

'But you do not share their, er shall we say outlook on life?'

'Sir?'

'Well, you were Sorted into Gryffindor before the Hat had really touched your head. That doesn't seem the kind of person who would have much in common with Lucius Malfoy and his family.'

Carina was utterly baffled by this line of questions. What on earth was Quirrell's motive? When she replied, she chose her words carefully. 'We get on fine, sir. Yes, we have differences but nothing significant to mention.'

Quirrell stared at her again and nodded. 'And your parents?'

'I'm sorry?'

'Your parents, the Lestranges. Currently serving time at the Ministry's pleasure in Azkaban. Do you feel you have much in common with them?'

Carina's face must have been a picture because Quirrell soon backtracked. 'Forgive me, Miss Lestrange. Am I the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, remember? My interest in the Dark Arts and those who practice it may sometimes seem a little morbid.'

'I have absolutely nothing in common with the Lestranges,' said Carina coldly. She didn't much care if she sounded rude. 'Now, if the detention is over, Professor, I should return to Gryffindor Tower.'

/

Carina awoke the next morning, feeling slightly unnerved. Quirrell's interest in her parents had been more than that of professional interest. He hadn't really asked after the Lestranges, but rather Carina herself. His motive, whatever it might be, was completely unknown to her.

Carina got up and got ready without really talking to the other girls. Lavender and Pavarti chatted away to one another, while Hermione got dressed quickly and in an obviously bad mood. It didn't take Carina long to find out why.

'... and it had three heads!' exclaimed Ron, as he tucked into a bacon sandwich.

Carina had joined the boys at the breakfast table, eager to hear what had come of their midnight duel. Unsurprisingly, it seemed as though Draco had planned it all to get Harry and Ron in trouble. Slightly more shocking was the fact that, not only had they given Filch the slip, but they'd also happened to run into a monstrous three headed beast.

'I wish I'd seen it!' moaned Carina. 'That sounds so much better than detention with Quirrell.' She had already decided not to mention her strange encounter with the teacher to Harry and Ron. She didn't want to seem paranoid or overly sensitive.

'It was quite a good adventure, to be honest,' agreed Harry.

'Hmph,' said a familiar voice.

'Good morning, Hermione,' said Carina, as the other girl took a seat next to her. Harry and Ron promptly looked in the other direction, and it wasn't long before Hermione had hidden herself behind a book.

'Anyway,' said Harry, as though there had been no interruption. He leant forward and lowered his voice so that only Ron and Carina could hear. 'I think that's where the package Hagrid collected has been put.'

'What package?' frowned Ron.

'The day Hagrid and I went to Diagon Alley, he took a small package from a vault in Gringotts. It was the only thing in the whole vault. Tiny and dirty looking, nothing special. But then, later that day, there was a break-in to that same vault. Hagrid brought it to Hogwarts instead. He said it's the safest place in the wizarding world.'

'Must be really valuable,' muttered Ron excitedly. 'And what a way to protect it- a three headed dog!'

'So it seems as though Hagrid was just in time in getting it out of the bank,' said Carina thoughtfully. 'And if Hagrid was doing it, then undoubtedly he was acting on Dumbledore's orders.'

The three of them glanced up at the staff table, where the headmaster was talking unconcernedly with Professor Snape.

'I wonder what it is,' mused Harry.

/

The next couple of weeks passed by without incident. In fact, all of the Gryffindor first years managed to get through the fortnight without a high speed broom chase, a suspicious detention, or an encounter with a three headed dog.

Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron all together. This made things difficult for Carina. Not only did she sit with Hermione in lessons and often join her in the library (the Hogwarts library was even better than Lucius' and Carina was determined to get through as many books as possible before Christmas), but Carina had come to see that perhaps Hermione had been right when she'd warned Carina not to jinx Draco.

The story of Carina Lestrange pulling out her wand on another student over breakfast had swept round the school. Luckily, the Gryffindors knew Carina well enough to not listen to the gossip, but some of the other students were clearly of the opinion that the apple did not fall far from the Lestrange family tree.

So, although Carina would never have admitted to being wrong, she was now making a concerted effort to ignore Draco rather than wave her wand at him.

Still, she was spending a lot of time going back and forth between Hermione and the boys; Hermione was regularly heard moaning about Ron's lapse of attention in class and Harry's blatant disregard for school rules, while Harry and Ron were firmly of the opinion that Hermione was just a 'know it all.'

Things came to a head on the day of Halloween when, after Ron had pointed out that Hermione was fairly unpopular, Hermione had shut herself away in the girls' bathroom.

'She's been in there all afternoon,' Neville informed Carina, as the Gryffindors made their way across the Entrance Hall to the Halloween feast. 'Crying about what Ron said. I think he really upset her.'

Carina glanced into the Hall, which had been extravagantly decorated for Halloween. Half of the school had already taken their seats and, although the tables were currently empty, they would soon be laden down with a few dozen delicious foods.

Carina sighed. 'I'm going to go and look for her, see if she's okay.'

She extracted herself from the line going into dinner, and jogged up the staircase, ignoring the odd whisper as she did so.

Carina found Hermione in one of the girls' bathrooms. She was sitting on a closed toilet seat, crying openly into a crumpled tissue and looking thoroughly miserable. Carina felt very sorry for her and more than a little bit guilty. True, she had never joined in Ron's teasing, but she had never put a stop to it either.

'Hermione?'

Hermione jumped, startled to find Carina standing in the cubicle doorway. 'Oh, hello,' she sniffed. 'I was- erm- I was just about to come down for dinner.'

'Listen, Hermione,' said Carina, moving into the cubicle and putting her arm around the other girl. 'Ron was talking rubbish. Plenty of people like you.'

Hermione snorted with derision. 'No, they don't! He's right, I don't have any friends here.'

'I'm your friend!'

Hermione eyed her warily. 'Really? I thought you preferred the boys?'

'I do like Harry and Ron,' said Carina truthfully. 'But I like you as well.'

'You don't think I'm a know it all?'

'No,' said Carina. She hesitated at the sceptical look on Hermione's face. 'Look, we all have our flaws, okay? You might be a tiny bit swotty but so what? At least you don't think it's fun to bully people who aren't as good at magic as you!'

'I never said you were bullying, Malfoy.'

'No, I know. But it was wrong anyway. I don't want to be like that.'

The two girls looked at one another for a long moment. Carina knew this would be a watershed moment in their friendship, and she suddenly felt a rush of affection towards Hermione. 'Look why don't you come down to the feast? The Hall looks amazing! And we don't have to sit anywhere near Ron.'

Hermione nodded, 'Okay, let me just sort out my face.' She pulled some more tissue off the roll and dabbed at her wet face. 'Alright, let's go. Carina, what's wrong?'

'Can you smell that?'

'Ugh, yes! What is that? A blocked pipe or something?'

'I don't think so,' said Carina slowly.

Something enormous was lumbering into the bathroom. Hermione screamed loudly as a full grown troll loomed in front of them. It was very big and incredibly mean looking, eyeing them in the way that Ron might have looked at a particularly delicious looking dinner.

'Move!' Carina shouted and shoved Hermione out of the way as the troll raised its club. It brought it smashing down onto the first couple of cubicles, and Carina had to half-drag Hermione out of the way.

The girls took refuge in the opposite corner of the room, although Carina noticed with a sinking feeling that this was the worst possible idea: they were now further from the door with no hope of making a run for it.

'What do we do?' urged Hermione. 'Oh what do we do? HELP!'

Carina's brain was whizzing so fast it was practically audible. Stunners? No, that was OWL level and she'd never tried it before. Plus she'd definitely read somewhere that trolls and giants were very hard to stun. She couldn't think what basic jinxes would work either, nor did she want to risk something that would only anger it further.

A wild, stupid thought suddenly came to her. Carina grabbed her wand and yelled 'Wingardium Leviosa!'

Behind the troll, another voice had said the spell at the exact same time. The troll's club rose into the air and fell back down onto its owner's head. The troll staggered several feet and collapsed with a thud that shook the room.

'Are you two okay?'

Harry and Ron vaulted over the unconscious troll towards the girls.

'What are you doing here?' gasped Hermione.

'We came to help!' said Ron, glancing down at the troll in disbelief. 'Neville said you were both in here.'

Carina was about to say something when there was a strangled gasp from the other side of the room. McGonagall had arrived on the scene, accompanied by Snape and Quirrell. The three teachers took in the troll and four first year students in disbelief.

'Explain yourselves!' ordered McGonagall, who had gone very pale.

'It's my fault, Professor,' said Hermione before any of the others could even think of an excuse. She hung her head and looked ashamed. 'I've read about trolls and thought I could handle them. I went to find it on my own. But Carina came after me and pulled me away as it tried to hit us with its club. Then Harry and Ron arrived. Carina and Ron both knocked it out.'

Carina did her best to look as though this story was the truth.

McGonagall stared at Hermione with utter disbelief and actually held onto the door frame for support. While she started berating Hermione for her foolishness, Carina chanced at look at the other teachers. Quirrell seemed particularly pale and twitchy; he kept glancing down at the troll, apparently unable to take his eyes off of it. Snape also looked very on edge and he was, Carina noticed, putting all his weight on only one leg, almost as if he had an injury. Carina dared a closer glance and noticed that his robes were shredded at one of the legs.

'Professor Dumbledore will hear of this mark my words. Now, off to bed all of you!'

The four Gryffindors ducked out of the room and make their way up to Gryffindor Tower. No one spoke for most of the journey until, just before they reached the noise of the common room, Carina pulled the others aside.

'I think Snape let that troll in tonight and tried to get past the three headed dog.'

 **I hope you enjoyed the update and thanks again for reading.**

 **The plan is that this story will cover all seven years at Hogwarts, with Carina acting as the fourth member of the Gryffindor group. Over the next couple of chapters, we'll see her investigate a bit more about Snape and her own family... Plus they'll be some friendship moments with the others.**

 **Thank you so much for reading and please leave me a review.**

 **xx**


	3. Year One: Part Three

'You'll be great, Harry,' said Carina reassuringly.

It was the first Gryffindor match of the Quidditch season and, obviously, they were playing Slytherin. Talk about a baptism of fire for Harry.

Along with Ron and Hermione, Carina had spent the past few days giving Harry constant pep talks and streams of encouragement. Sometimes it seemed to work. Other times, like this morning, he looked ready to run back to the Hogwarts Express.

'You really should eat something,' said Ron, as he helped himself to sausages and fried tomatoes.

Harry shrugged and insisted he wasn't hungry.

'Listen, Harry,' said Carina, leaning across the table to get closer to him. 'McGonagall obviously saw something in you. Otherwise you'd be back at the Dursleys by now, not getting ready to become the youngest Seeker in a century.'

Harry smiled slightly and looked a bit better. 'Thanks, Carina.'

'You are very welcome,' she grinned.

Carina wanted this to work for Harry probably almost as much as he did himself. She'd never met anyone quite like him. Harry was the subject of constant gossip and speculation. In some quarters there was even talk about him being a rival Dark Lord, for goodness sake. Yet, it never seemed to affect him. Harry was simply thrilled to be at Hogwarts and seemed to accept the downsides as merely an irritating fact of life.

A few seats down the table, the team captain Oliver Wood stood up suddenly. He was paler than usual but had a fierce determination in his eyes. 'Right, team, down to the pitch!'

The whole of Gryffindor exploded into cheers as the team got to their feet and left the Hall together. All seven players look extremely nervous and even the Weasley twins were silent for once.

'Ooh I do hope they win,' said Hermione anxiously. Out of respect for the importance of the occasion, she hadn't even brought a book down to breakfast.

'They'll be fine,' said Ron confidently. 'Fred and George told me that Harry is really brilliant. Just remember the game rules that I explained to you, yeah Hermione?'

A few weeks ago, a comment like that might have earned Ron a sharp look and a huffy attitude all day. But ever since Halloween, Hermione and Ron had become solid friends. Having some one come to rescue you from a full-grown mountain troll wasn't something you could easily ignore.

Carina, meanwhile, did her usual glance up towards the staff table. She liked to check on both Snape and Quirrell as often as possible. Of course, there wasn't much she could do if either of them were absent or whatever, but it made her feel somewhat reassured to see them sitting there going about daily life.

Carina was still certain in her suspicions that Snape had been behind the troll on Halloween. She'd read enough about them to know trolls did not have the intelligence to break into Hogwarts unassisted. And then there was Snape's leg injury, which Carina was sure had come from Fluffy. If only she knew what was being hidden in the school.

And as for Quirrell, well there was something about him that she just didn't like, something that made her feel very uneasy.

'Morning guys, are you heading down?'

Dean and Seamus had arrived at the table, carrying a large 'Potter for President' banner with a Gryffindor lion on it.

'Yes, we'd better go,' said Hermione nervously. 'We want good seats, don't we?'

The five Gryffindors set off out of the castle and down to the Quidditch pitch. By the time they reached the stands, at least half of the school were already piled in.

'Good turnout,' commented Carina, well aware that this would do nothing for Harry's nerves.

'Oh there always is,' said Percy Weasley, who had taken a seat behind them. 'First game of the season and all that. And, of course, everyone wants to see Slytherin beaten-' he cleared his throat. 'I mean, obviously it's about sportsmanship and teamwork, not house rivalry.'

Ron rolled his eyes and moved further down the row away from his brother.

'Alright there?' Hagrid had arrived, pushing his way down the row and taking up as much space as all the Gryffindor first years together. 'Was going to watch it from me hut but it's not the same, is it?'

He came and stood next to Carina, Ron and Hermione who all said hello. Ever since their first meeting, when he had looked at her with shocked recognition and then pretended as though nothing happened, Hagrid had been perfectly friendly with Carina. She could only assume it was a bit of a surprise to see the daughter of two Death Eaters strolling around.

Down on the pitch, the teams were assembling. Harry looked very small indeed next to the Slytherins, most of whom were built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle.

Hermione had gone very pale. 'Oh, I don't know if I can watch this!'

'Oh, don't complain, it'll be great!' said Carina, helping Dean and Seamus unfold their enormous banner.

Down on the pitch, Harry caught a glimpse of it and grinned up at them. Carina waved back.

In no time at all, the match was underway. And, from the off, it was clear that Gryffindor were the better team. Carina and the others cheered loudly as the three chasers put away several goals.

'This is in the bag!' roared Ron, after a particularly spectacular goal from Angelina Johnson. Carina and Hermione were dancing in their seats, while Dean shouted what sounded like a muggle football chant.

'What's Harry doing?' puzzled Hagrid, looking up at the game through his binoculars.

Carina followed his line of vision. Harry was twenty feet or so higher than the other players, struggling with all his might to stay on the broom. It was bucking and flailing madly, determined to unseat it's rider.

The crowd gasped as Harry slipped off and held on with one hand.

'The Slytherins must have tampered with it!' yelled Ron in horror.

'Impossible,' said Carina quickly. 'Only seriously advanced Dark magic could interfere with a Nimbus 2000.' Her eyes darted across the stands to where most of the teachers sat. Carina grabbed Ron's arm very tightly. 'It's Snape, look!'

The potions master was maintaining perfect eye contact with Harry and muttering very quickly under his breath.

Before Carina could say anything else, or even think of a spell to use herself, Hermione had sprinted off along the stands, knocking other students out the way.

'What on earth is she doing?' moaned Ron, his eyes flickering between Snape, Hermione and Harry.

Carina didn't have time to worry about Hermione. Her eyes shot back to Harry. What on earth was going on? Why weren't any of the other teachers doing anything? A hundred spells raced through her mind but she rejected each of them. Too risky, not strong enough, no guarantee that she could perform them.

Then, suddenly and miraculously, Harry was pulling himself back onto the Nimbus. Using impressive upper body strength, he lifted himself onto the broom and shot back down into the middle of the game.

Carina almost shouted with relief, and hugged Ron tightly around the neck. When she released him, the tips of his ears were almost as red as his hair.

Hermione reappeared next to them, looking ruffled but pleased with herself. 'I broke Snape's eye contact,' she whispered so that only Carina and Ron could hear. 'That proves it was him- you have to maintain eye contact to pull off a jinx like that.'

'That's true-' Carina broke off as three quarters of the spectators exploded in cheers.

A roar of celebration swept through the stands. Hagrid was jumping up and down with enough force to make the seats shake. Ron, Dean and Seamus had their arms round each others' shoulders, chanting loudly. Hermione was dancing around and wiping her eyes on her scarf.

Carina vaulted under the barrier and took the stairs two at a time, just as those in the front row seats had started to stream onto the pitch. Carina battled through the crowd to reach Harry, who was surrounded by his teammates and looking slightly dazed.

Before he could react, Carina had thrown her arms around him and hugged him. When they parted, his cheeks were as pink as Ron's ears.

/

'Snape?' repeated Harry in disbelief.

'Snape,' agreed Ron. 'I always knew it, the slimy git.'

'Ron!' said Hermione reproachfully.

'Honestly, Hermione!' exclaimed Ron in disbelief, 'He's just tried to murder one of your best friends and you're worried about me being rude?'

'Still,' sniffed Hermione, 'He is a teacher.'

'A murderous ex-Death Eater teacher,' Carina pointed out. 'Funnily enough, I don't think that should be ignored just because he's got professor in front of his name.'

'You know, it would have been nice to have just played Quidditch without someone trying to kill me,' huffed Harry.

The four Gryffindors were making their way back up through the grounds to Hagrid's hut. He had had to dash off after the match to check up on some ferocious beast, but had told them all to stop by for tea.

'Well done, Harry,' Hagrid beamed as he pulled open his cabin door. 'You showed 'em.'

The other three followed Harry into the hut. It was a small, wooden building with only one room. There was often an animal curled up in a corner, and all visitors took the risk of being offered Hagrid's terrible cooking. Still, there was something about the place that was very comforting.

Hagrid had barely poured tea from the pot when they launched into their 'Snape is out to kill Harry' theory. Hagrid listened- with an increasingly bemused expression- and, when they were finished, he looked as though he was struggling not to laugh.

'You've got some imaginations on yer, I'll give yer that.'

'Hagrid, we saw Snape jinxing the broom!' exclaimed Ron.

'He didn't break eye contact,' added Hermione.

'And he acts like he hates me in every Potions lesson,' muttered Harry.

Hagrid waved this away. 'Rubbish. Why would he hate you?' Although Carina noticed that Hagrid did not quite meet Harry's eyes when he said that.

'Why else would he try and get past that three headed dog?' asked Carina, irritated by Hagrid's refusal to even consider their theory.

'How do you know about Fluffy?' asked Hagrid, clearly thrown by this new piece of information.

'Fluffy?' groaned Ron. 'That thing has a name?'

'Course he has a name!' said Hagrid, looking affronted at the thought of a terrifying man-eating beast not having a name. 'He's mine, isn't he? Bought him off a Greek chappie down the pub. Then I leant him to Dumbledore to guard the-'

Unfortunately, Hagrid caught himself at that moment and fell silent.

'Guard the what?' asked Ron eagerly.

Hagrid shook his head and looked firm. 'That's nothing to do with you lot.'

Knowing that Hagrid was not going to deliberately betray Dumbledore's confidence, Carina changed tactics. 'Look Hagrid, I know Snape is a teacher now. Dumbledore obviously trusts him. But that doesn't erase his past. My uncle, Lucius Malfoy, has mentioned him a lot, which means that Snape was undoubtedly a Death Eater as well.'

Hagrid stared at Carina for a moment and, when he spoke, he did so rather kindly. 'Look, I'm not denying that Snape has a past. But Dumbledore trusts him and that's good enough for me.'

'So you think it's okay that he probably murdered and tortured dozens of people under Voldemort's orders?' demanded Carina hotly. She ignored Ron and Hagrid's reaction to her use of the name.

Hagrid looked at her rather sadly. 'Lots of people did terrible, terrible things during the war. But, if we didn't let any of them make amends, then would we be any better than the Dark Side?'

'Yes,' said Carina firmly. She was aware that the other three were looking at her, and that she might be coming off a bit strong, but she didn't care. Death Eaters didn't change. They deserved what they got.

Hagrid sighed deeply. 'Well, let's hope we never have to find out again.' He topped up everyone's tea cups. 'Now, you lot forget Fluffy and get on with school. The matter is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel.'

'So there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved?' asked Harry, grinning.

Hagrid looked furious.

/

The next morning, Carina sat in one of the comfy chairs by the fire, watching her fellow housemates make their way downstairs for a leisurely Sunday breakfast. She'd been awake reading since dawn and, although tired, was very pleased with herself.

'There you are!' Hermione emerged from the girls staircase and spotted Carina.

'Where have you been?'

Carina shrugged. 'Couldn't sleep. I've been down here for hours.'

'May I ask why?'

Carina indicated the heavy, leather-bound book that was resting in her lap. Unable to resist the temptation to open a book, Hermione seized it and began flicking through.

'Oh my goodness.'

'See?' said Carina smugly. 'Now where are the boys?'

As if by magic, Harry and Ron chose that moment to appear at the bottom of their own staircase. They spotted the girls and wandered over.

'Ready for breakfast?' yawned Ron. Like most of the Gryffindors, he'd been up late last night celebrating the win.

'Hang on a second. I need to show you something.'

'It's a bit early for a book that big, isn't it?' groaned Harry.

Carina waited for a moment before answering. Fred and George were just crossing the common room with Lee Jordan. All three of them were bleary eyed but still chanting some of the crowd songs from the match; Fred was even wearing a Gryffindor flag drapped over his shoulders. 'Thought it'd annoy the Slytherins,' he grinned by way of explanation.

Once the three older boys had left through the portrait hole, Carina beckoned for the others to come closer.

'Look!' she said, taking the book back from Hermione and gesturing at a specific page.

Ron rolled his eyes. 'Harry's right. It's early and it's a weekend. Just get to the point will you?'

'Alright, then,' said Carina. 'How about this? Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the philosopher's stone.'

It didn't quite have the dramatic effect she had hoped for. Both the boys looked completely blank, earning them an eye roll from Hermione.

'When Hagrid mentioned him yesterday, I knew I recognised the name. He's a close friend of Dumbledore's- they worked together on the uses of dragon blood. I went to find this book from the library yesterday during the party. I've been reading it all morning, it's very interesting.'

'So are you going to tell us what the philosopher's stone is, or shall we wait a few weeks?' asked Harry sarcastically.

'Honestly,' huffed Hermione. 'Do you two never pick up a book? The philosopher's stone produces the Elixir of Life.'

'That makes you immortal,' added Carina.

This time the boys did look impressed.

'And do you think that's what in the package that Harry saw?' breathed Ron.

'If Nicolas Flamel really is involved then I'm certain of it. The stone would be small. Definitely little enough to be in that parcel Hagrid took from Gringotts.'

'So Snape's trying to become immortal?' wondered Harry, looking alarmed.

'Perhaps,' said Carina, staring into the flickering fireplace and wondering.

/

As the year drew to a close, there was a remarkable change in the weather at Hogwarts. Gone was the wind and heavy rain. Instead, a deep frost settled over the grounds, and chilly air raced along corridors to bite exposed skin. One morning, they awoke to find several feet of snow covering the landscape. Christmas was here.

'Have a wonderful Christmas, you three,' said Hermione.

She had her trunk all packed and was wrapped up in several layers of coats, scarves and gloves. Hermione hugged Carina, and then both boys before they could stop her.

Carina, Harry and Ron watched her head down the steps out into the cold, along with most of the other students.

Draco sauntered past them, wrapped in an expensive coat and looking more smug than he had done in a while.

'Bye, Carina,' he called as he strode past his cousin. 'I'll pass on your Christmas wishes to mother and father shall I? You enjoy it here with Weasel and Scar Head, won't you?'

'Ignore him, the git,' muttered Fred, who had come down to wave off Lee Jordan. 'Who'd want to be spending Christmas with the Malfoys anyway?'

Carina certainly hadn't, hence why she had signed up to stay at Hogwarts as soon as the lists came out. It hadn't been a popular decision. Narcissa had sent her an incredulous letter wondering why she did not want to 'come home and be with family.' Carina didn't have the heart to tell her aunt that the last thing she wanted to do on Christmas Day was watch Lucius get drunk and start reminiscing about the good old days of muggle torture. Instead she'd told her that she had a lot of work to do and wanted to get ahead before spring term began. Obviously Narcissa wouldn't believe her- and no doubt Draco would spend the holidays telling his parents all about Carina's new life as a Gryffindor- but she didn't care that much.

Carina had been fully expecting to spend the holidays alone. But then Harry had made it perfectly clear he had no intention of going back to his aunt and uncle. Shortly afterwards, Ron and the other Weasley brothers had signed up to stay as well; their parents were off to see Charlie in Romania, and none of the boys wanted to go.

All in all, Carina was looking forward to her best Christmas yet. Last year, she had spent most of it in the kitchen, talking to Dobby the house elf. She hadn't been able to stomach the drawing room, where Lucius and Narcissa were fawning over Draco and making Carina feel very much like the cuckoo in the nest. Then there had been the year before when Lucius had invited a series of illustrious characters over on Boxing Day: the Crabbe and Goyle families; some creepy Ministry employee called MacNair; and Theodore Nott's parents.

No, all things considered, Carina thought Christmas at Hogwarts sounded just fine.

She woke on Christmas morning alone in the dormitory since all the other girls had gone home. A small pile of presents waited at the foot of her bed. After pulling on a dressing gown, she got to work on them.

To her surprise, the Malfoys had sent a set of expensive-looking books on international wizarding history, as well as a handsome new quill with a gold platted tip. The quill was too Malfoy for her taste, but she suspected Narcissa had been behind the books. The thought made her feel oddly sad and more than a little guilty.

Hermione had left her a book as well. It was a complicated step-by-step guide on Transfiguration. Carina grinned to herself, wondering if anyone other than her and Hermione would find the book interesting.

The next one was from Hagrid who had sent her a large box of homemade cakes. Carina secretly thought she would only dare touch them if she were in danger of starving to death. But she made a note to write him a thank you letter anyway.

The final present was big and lumpy. Carina pulled off the wrapping paper to find a home knitted jumper. It was scarlet with a Gryffindor lion right in the middle. Confused, Carina searched in the wrappings and dug out a scribbled note.

 _Merry Christmas, Carina._

 _I hope you don't think this too forward but Ron has told me a lot about you, and he said you might not be expecting the best Christmas._

 _Hoping to meet you soon in person!_

 _Molly Weasley_

A hard lump grew in Carina's throat. She pulled the jumper over her head and wiped her eyes on the bedding. That was incredibly touching. She thought of her own mother, all the way out in Azkaban. Bellatrix Lestrange probably did not care that it was Christmas Day, that was if she was even aware of it. Carina curled her hands up inside the jumper sleeves and wrapped her arms around her knees. She suddenly felt very young.

'Carina!'

Shaking herself, Carina clambered off her bed and headed for the door.

'Carina! Get down here now. Harry's got an Invisibility Cloak!'

'Say it a bit louder, Ron. I don't think the whole tower heard.'

'Oh come off it. It's just Percy and the twins here.'

Carina jogged down the stairs into the common room, to see Harry and Ron standing around looking very excited.

'Look at this!' Harry practically shouted. He swept a large, silvery cloak around himself and promptly vanished from sight.

'Amazing!' said Ron happily. 'I can't wait to sneak up behind Filch and kick him.'

'Who on earth sent that?' asked Carina, taking in the strange sight of Harry's head floating around the room. She knew decent Cloaks like this one were very rare and expensive. Even Lucius didn't have one, as far as she knew.

'No idea,' said Harry, taking off the Cloak and reappearing. 'There was just a note saying that is was my dad's and to use it well.'

/

Carina spent most of the day puzzling over the Invisibility Cloak. Neither Harry nor Ron seemed as interested in who had sent it. Rather, they occupied themselves with debating how they were going to put it to use.

By the evening, Ron had eaten so much he had fallen asleep snoring in an armchair. Percy was chasing the twins around the tower (something about them 'borrowing' his prefect badge) and Carina was trying to teach Harry wizards chess. He had been spectacularly defeated by Ron earlier in the day. Her mind, however, was really on the Cloak.

'Use it well.' That meant something, she knew it. Had someone worked out that they were onto the Stone? And, if so, what was the Cloak for?

Ron gave a particularly loud snore and woke himself up. 'I think I might go to bed,' he said bleary eyed.

Carina and Harry bade him goodnight and carried on with their game. It was taking a long time- mainly because Carina was deliberately trying to let Harry win. Unfortunately, for an intelligent person, he was extraordinarily poor at chess.

'Carina?' he said suddenly, sometime around ten o clock.

'Yes, you can move that rook there.'

'No, not that.' Harry pushed aside the chess board. His eyes were gleaming in the fire light. 'Carina, the whole of Hogwarts is open to us with that Cloak!'

Carina was suddenly wide awake, with no desire to play chess any more. 'Let's go and explore!'

Harry leapt up and ran towards the boys staircase. He re-emerged a couple of minutes later, the Cloak trailing in one hand. 'Ron's out for the count,' he explained. 'I was going to wake him but I don't think he'd appreciate it.'

'Let's go,' insisted Carina excitedly. She was filled with pumping adrenaline. Harry was right, the whole of the castle was available to them. They go literally go anywhere they liked.

'We could spy on Snape?' she suggested.

Harry screwed up his nose. 'Not sure I want to catch Snape in his pyjamas, do you?'

'Alright,' laughed Carina. 'Well let's just go and have an explore.'

Together, they left the common room and, once out in the corridor, flung the Cloak over themselves. It was a surreal feeling, watching one's body vanish.

'You ready?'

'Let's go,' grinned Harry.

Neither of them discussed where exactly they would go. Instead, they made their way down the long corridor towards the main staircase. Hogwarts was truly bizarre at night, without the usual parade of noisy students. The portraits were moving- and in some cases talking with one another- but, apart from that, everything was still. It was quite a humbling feeling- this castle would be here long after Carina and Harry had left school.

They made their way down a couple of floors and then wandered along another corridor that Carina had also only ever seen heaving with students. They kept their breath deliberately quiet, half expecting Filch or a teacher to jump out of nowhere.

'Harry,' whispered Carina.

'What?'

'Let's go to the Restricted Section.'

'Why?'

'The books in there look so interesting. I bet we could find some ones on curses and stuff!'

Carina could practically feel Harry rolling his eyes next to her. 'I knew I should have brought Ron rather than you.'

Still, he didn't protest as Carina led the way to the library. Fully aware that she the biggest geek since Hermione Granger, Carina could barely stop herself from gasping at the sight of the place. Thanks to its vaulted ceilings and comforting smell of ancient books, Hogwarts library was beautiful at the best of times. Tonight, dark and completely deserted, it was really quite magical. Carina grinned around at the rows and rows of texts.

'Come on.' She led the way through a small golden gate into the section marked Restricted. Harry was obviously trying not to laugh that Carina's idea of being rebellious was to sneak into the library after hours.

The question was where to start? There must have been thousands of books in the Restricted Section. Carina pulled the Cloak off her and whispered _'Lumos!'_

'Nice,' said Harry admiringly, as a beam of light lit up the end of Carina's wand.

Carina picked up a nearby book at random. There wasn't even anything she particularly wanted to read. Just having the freedom to wander around this many books was enough. Endless knowledge at her fingertips.

A piercing scream cut through the silence. _The book was screaming!_

Carina and Harry exchanged a look of horror, as Carina dropped the book like a poisonous snake. Harry had barely flung the Cloak back over them when footsteps could be heard at one end of the library.

Carina didn't think she'd ever moved so quickly. The two of them darted down the row and ducked back out into the main section of the library.

'Have a good look, Mrs Norris. They'll be here somewhere.'

As Filch pushed open the gate into the Restricted Section, Carina and Harry threw themselves out of the library's second entrance. Unfortunately, the door was creaky and Filch's footsteps changed direction to follow them.

They tore down the corridor and ducked behind a tapestry that led to a secret passageway. A short run later and they emerged in another dimly lit corridor.

'In here!' said Harry, flinging open a door.

They emerged into what seemed like an empty classroom. It was very dark, the only source of light coming from the moon, which pooled through a set of open curtains.

Carina leant against a desk and laughed in relief. Now that they had given Filch the slip, it all seemed a lot funnier than it had a few minutes ago.

It took her a few moments to notice that Harry was not paying any attention to her. He was standing before a great mirror that Carina had somehow missed when they entered the room. It was like no looking glass she had ever seen before. Stretching from almost floor to ceiling, it was unnecessarily large. Even Malfoy Manor's most ostentatious rooms had nothing this extravagant in them.

'Harry?' asked Carina quietly. He was standing in front of the mirror, staring with a hunger she had never seen before. 'Harry?'

'It's my family.'

'What?' Carina was thrown by this. 'What are you talking about?'

'Look!' insisted Harry, as though she were being deliberately stupid. 'I can see all of them. They're in the mirror.'

'Harry, there's no one there. It's just the two of us.'

'Oh, come over here and look properly.'

He took a step back and Carina edged forward cautiously. It was only now that she noticed a strange writing snaking across the top of the frame. Her instincts told her to back away now.

As Carina got closer to the glass, Harry faded away from the reflection. She spun round to check he hadn't put the Cloak on again. But no, there he was, standing a few feet behind her. He should have been seen in the mirror too, but there was only Carina.

There was something off about her reflection as well. In the mirror, Carina stood alone. She looked physically the same age as her current 12 year old self but there was something more about her. A quality that Carina simply could not pin down. She seemed older, at least in the eyes. And there was lightness, a sense of weightlessness as though any problems she might have had been lifted. It was quite disconcerting and she backed away quickly.

'Did you see them?' asked Harry eagerly.

'No.' Carina looked up at the writing again. 'Harry, I've got a bad feeling about this.'

'Why?' he demanded, almost angrily. 'It's just my parents. What harm can it do?'

Carina was surprised by his tone and how his mood had switched so quickly. Every sense she had was telling her that lingering before this mirror was a bad idea.

'Look at the writing,' she said softly.

Harry frowned. 'It's a different language.'

'No, it's not,' said Carina, surprised. 'It's English written backwards: _I show not your face but your heart's desire._ Oh Harry.'

Harry had sat down on an old chair and hidden his face behind one of his hands. Carina looked away for a moment, giving him time to wipe his eyes on the sleeve of his robes.

She stared back at the mirror, taking care not to go to close so as to see her own 'heart's desire' again. Harry's was obvious. The orphan who wanted nothing more than a loving family. The sadness of the situation felt like a punch to Carina's own stomach.

But what about her? Her heart's desire was to be standing alone with no one beside her? Was that the epitome of what she wanted from life?

'Harry, let's get back to the common room,' Carina said firmly.

When Harry remained silent and did not move, she crossed the room and sat down next to him. 'Listen Harry,' she said, trying to be gentle. 'This is not real, and it can never be real. I don't know what the mirror's purpose is but we need to leave now.'

'You don't understand,' said Harry thickly. He cleared his throat and looked embarrassed. 'I've never spoken with my parents, I have no memory of them. This is the first time I'm conscious of ever seeing them.'

Impulsively, Carina reached for Harry's hand. 'I do understand, believe me. Alright, my parents aren't dead, and they certainly deserved what they got. But I understand the loss, the hole. I know what it's like to feel alone, to feel unprotected.'

Harry looked at her curiously. 'Yeah. Yeah, I suppose you do.' He sighed deeply. 'It's a strange feeling. It's knowing that there aren't two people who love you unconditionally.'

'Wondering that, if something happened to you, who would care.'

'Not having someone you can rely upon absolutely.'

'Being scared that you'll never have that.'

The two friends stared at one another for a long time. Perhaps minutes, or maybe hours later, Carina stood up.

'We should head back to the common room. Filch must have gone now.'

Harry threw the Cloak over them and they made the slow journey back up to Gryffindor Tower. Carina had a suspicion that, come morning, their night time excursion would have become a topic never to be discussed again. But, as they tip-toed back through the castle, Carina was impossibly grateful for the moment of shared understanding with a friend.

 **Thanks for reading everyone.**

 **And a big thanks to my lovely reviewers, especially DarkFireofAngelsSouls for your long and constructive response about Carina as an OC.**

 **So we've seen the first glimpse of Carina and Harry building their friendship. Next chapter will focus on the gang's post- Christmas investigation of Snape, leading up to a dramatic encounter in the Forest. Oh and what Carina saw in the Mirror of Erised will definitely come up again later...**

 **If you liked the chapter, please click follow! And, if you're feeling especially nice, leave me a review!**


	4. Year One: Part Four

Neither Carina nor Harry mentioned their encounter with the strange mirror. Carina had certainly not forgotten about it. In fact, she regularly stayed awake into the early hours wondering why she had seen herself alone in the mirror, and what that might mean. At her worst moments, Carina thought of her mother and wondered if her life was destined to follow the same path. Perhaps her future would indeed be devoid of love and company.

Carina was sure that Harry must have been thinking about the mirror at least as much as she was, but he had not said anything to her. That wasn't much of a surprise. Harry had many excellent qualities, but an ability to talk about emotional subjects was not one of them.

All in all, Carina was glad when Hermione and the others returned, and the new term got into full swing.

Classes became more interesting, now that they had covered the absolute basics. Of course, Carina was still miles ahead of everyone, even Hermione. In Transfiguration, she was always the first to move onto the next, larger animal. While, in Charms, she mastered one spell so quickly that Flitwick gave her twenty house points and a bar of Honeydukes finest chocolate.

The only lesson where her abilities were not well received was Potions. Snape still disliked the Gryffindor students as much as he had on their first lesson. Harry and Ron hated him back just as strongly, while Neville spent most of the class in a state of acute nervous breakdown. Carina and Hermione had tried whispering instructions to him but Snape always managed to catch them at it.

Even the fact the Carina was producing consistently excellent potions did little to redeem her in the eyes of the Potions master. While Snape did not treat her with the same open disdain as he did the other Gryffindors, he did pay her a considerable amount of attention. Often, she would catch him staring at her with a mixture of amusement and great interest. Carina suspected her house and her friendship with Harry Potter to be the main reasons behind it. No doubt Snape had expected her to be in Slytherin and friends with her cousin.

Draco was, if possible, in an even worse mood with Carina after Christmas. There had been a rather odd encounter when he had cornered her in the library and blamed her for his Christmas at home not being up to the usual standard.

'You're really ungrateful, you know that?'

Carina, who had been sitting at a table, minding her own business, looked up from her book. Draco was looming over her looking put-out.

'What's the matter dearest cousin?'

'Christmas was rubbish because of you.'

Carina looked at him in bewilderment. 'How did you figure that one out? I was here remember?'

'Exactly!' fumed Draco. He glanced around to make sure no one was looking, then lowered his voice to be safe. 'It was all mother and father could talk about. Why you hadn't come home, who you were spending the holidays with. They think they've failed in bringing you up.'

Carina was utterly thrown by this. Yes, she had guessed that Narcissa and Lucius would be enraged by her being Sorted into Gryffindor. But surely they wouldn't take it as a personal failure? She had always assumed they would blame her for being the bad egg in the family.

'So, what's the matter?' asked Carina. 'Are they scared that the Lestranges are going to get out of prison and kill them because I got Sorted into Gryffindor?'

Draco shrugged. 'I have no idea!' He hesitated and then reluctantly admitted. 'They don't talk about it in front of me. I had to listen in on conversations to find out what I've just told you.'

'Look, Draco. I wanted to stay here for Christmas and I thought your parents would be relieved by that too,' explained Carina honestly.

'Well they weren't,' said Draco shortly. He frowned for a moment, as if searching for the right word. 'They seemed worried, scared almost. Like they had a lot on their minds.'

'Well, I'm sorry that me not being a pure-blood fanatic slash Death- Eater wannabe is disappointing to you and your parents,' snapped Carina.

Draco looked taken aback from her tone, but he recovered quickly. 'Fine. I hope you end up happy Carina. You know, once you've cut yourself off from every single family member and are alone.'

'Oh go away,' muttered Carina, turning her attention back to her book.

Draco didn't need telling twice. He stalked off looking mutinous.

Only once he had disappeared out of the library did Carina stop pretending to read. That information from her cousin was as interesting as it was baffling. Were Lucius and Narcissa really that scared about her having been Sorted into Gryffindor? Surely if Bellatrix and Rodolphus ever did get out of Azkaban- and Carina sorely hoped they would rot there- then they would blame their daughter rather than the Malfoys?

There'd been plenty of rogue family members in the Black and Lestrange lines over the years. Essentially, people who had bucked the trend by either not being in Slytherin or not automatically hating Muggleborns. The proscribed way of dealing with such horrors was to blast them off the family tree and cut them out of the will.

So what made Carina a special case? Surely Bellatrix couldn't have had that much motherly affection for her if she'd chosen to go to Azkaban rather than raise her daughter? Something just did not add up and Carina could not work out what it was.

/

As the spring term went on, Carina, Harry, Ron and Hermione's obsession with Snape and the Philosopher's Stone only got stronger. After Snape stood in as referee for Harry's next Quidditch match- and was then overheard by Harry threatening Quirrell in the forest- it seemed to only confirm their suspicions that the Potions master was up to no good.

The problem was, although they had convinced themselves that Snape was out to get the Stone, they did not have strong enough proof to go to the headmaster. Nor were they sure exactly why Snape might want the Stone in the first place. Ron was convinced that he wanted immortality for himself, but Carina wasn't so sure.

Over the next couple of months, Carina dedicated herself to finding out as much about Snape as possible. It was almost a shame that she wasn't back at Malfoy Manor, she reflected one afternoon. Lucius could have saved her a lot of time by telling her most of what she wanted to know.

Carina was sat in the girls dormitory, surrounded by piles of Wizengamot court records, as well as several books on the Wizarding War. She would have preferred to read them in the comfort of the library, but there was always the risk that Snape might have seen what she was doing.

Unfortunately, Carina hadn't found out as much as she hoped. Snape's name cropped up a lot in the court minutes, mainly from the testimonies of defendants. It seemed that many suspected Death Eaters had tried to avoid prison sentences by betraying their fellows.

As far as Carina could tell, Snape had never had a trial himself. The closest she got to this were the minutes from the trial of one Igor Karkaroff. Accused of Death Eater activity himself, Karkaroff had offered Snape as a name to get himself out of prison. According to the court scribe, none other than Albus Dumbledore himself had then stood up and reminded the court that he had given evidence about Snape turning spy for the good side.

That was very interesting, mused Carina, as she flicked through the yellowing sheets of parchment. So Snape had changed sides had he? She wondered what proof Dumbledore had of that.

Carina's thoughts were interrupted as the dormitory door opened. Hermione entered the room.

'Oh there you are,' she said. 'We're going down to say hello to Hagrid.'

'Finally got the boys to finish the Transfiguration essay, did you?' smirked Carina. Hermione had spent most of the day breathing down Harry and Ron's necks and warning them they'd fail all their exams.

Hermione shook her head despairingly. 'Eventually. It was painful though.' She rummaged around in her chest of drawers for a jumper. 'Are you coming then?'

'No, I don't think so. I've got some more reading to do.'

Hermione glanced at the mass of paper spread across Carina's duvet. 'I think it might do you good to get some fresh air.'

Carina looked at her in surprise. 'I'm fine, honestly. I've just found a really interesting court transcript about Snape.'

Hermione hesitated, shifting her weight between each leg back and forth. 'Don't take this the wrong way, but don't you think you're becoming a little obsessed with Snape?'

'Hermione, he's an ex- Death Eater trying to steal a legendary substance with the power of immortality. If anything, I'm not spending _enough_ time on it.'

Hermione continued to look uncomfortable. She took a seat on the edge of Carina's bed, pushing aside several sheets of paper.

'Go on,' sighed Carina, leaning back against the pillows. 'Say what you've got to say.'

'Look,' said Hermione gently. 'I know the boys are really obsessed with Snape as well. They hate him so much I think they'd probably like it if he was exposed for trying to steal the Stone. But, how much can we really do? The teachers' enchantments are working because Snape obviously hasn't stolen the Stone yet. For all we know, Dumbledore might be on the case himself.'

'But what if he isn't?' countered Carina. 'What if Dumbledore and everyone else trust Snape?'

'Well they might have good reason to,' offered Hermione. 'Dumbledore must know something we don't.'

There was too much truth in Hermione's words for Carina to argue. Instead, she switched tactics. 'He's a Death Eater that walked free. I don't care if Dumbledore trusts him now. He should still be held accountable for his actions.'

Hermione sighed deeply. 'Look I really think you should come down to Hagrid's with us.'

'No, thank you,' said Carina stubbornly. To prove her point, she picked up another piece of parchment and read it until Hermione gave up and left the room.

/

By late afternoon, Carina was beginning to regret her decision not to go and see Hagrid. She had become both enraged and frustrated by reading about so many Death Eater trials, and wished that she had not been so awkward with Hermione.

She was also wondering how the other three would be when they got back. A tiny, paranoid part of her brain wondered if Hermione had spent the afternoon telling the boys all about Carina's strange obsession with bringing former Death Eaters to justice.

However, when Harry, Ron and Hermione did get back from Hagrid's, it was with news that pushed Death Eaters out of Carina's thoughts.

'A dragon?' she repeated, hoping she'd misheard Ron.

'Yep,' groaned Ron. He collapsed into an armchair by the fire, looking as though he'd aged twenty years in the space of an afternoon.

Harry and Hermione took nearby seats and pulled their chairs closer so they could talk without being overheard. Not that that was difficult; Fred and George had chosen that moment to set off a batch of fireworks and Percy was shouting himself hoarse at them.

'He's lost it,' declared Harry. 'Dragons are illegal aren't they?'

Ron nodded. 'Breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709. Don't look so surprised that I know that!' he shot at Hermione, who was looking mildly impressed at Ron's fact.

'But, what's he going to do when it grows?' asked Carina incredulously. 'It'll be the size of that hut!'

'Bigger,' said Ron. 'He's got a Norwegian Ridgeback. My brother, Charlie, says they tend to be the largest after Hungarian Horntails.'

Hermione looked slightly sick at this news. 'We've got to help him. He just has not thought this through. And if someone else finds out, he'll be in massive trouble. People have gone to Azkaban for less.'

'Can't your brother take the dragon?' Harry asked Ron. 'We could get rid of it before it grows too much.'

'That's an idea,' agreed Carina. 'Would Hagrid give it up though?'

'He's got to,' said Ron firmly. 'I'll write to Charlie tonight, then I'll go back tomorrow and make Hagrid see sense.'

'First a three headed dog, now a dragon,' laughed Harry nervously. 'What pet is he going to get next?'

/

As it turned out, The Dragon Situation (as the four friends were now calling it) went from bad to worse. Although Ron's brother wrote back and was enthusiastic about taking the dragon, it meant they would have to be out of bed at midnight to meet his friends.

If that wasn't risky enough, when Ron went to tell Hagrid the news, he came back with a nasty bite. Within no time at all, his hand had swelled up so badly that he had no choice but to be admitted to the hospital wing.

Then, to top everything off, it seemed likely that Draco Malfoy had not only caught a glimpse of the dragon, but also gotten his hands on Ron's letter from Charlie.

All in all, the odds were stacked against them and, on the evening when they left the common room to sneak up to meet Charlie's friends, Carina, Harry and Hermione were bundles of nerves. Ron, meanwhile, was still in the infirmary, doing his best to convince Madam Pomfrey that his injury was just a dog bite.

'Oh where are they?' moaned Hermione, hopping from one foot to the other thanks to the cold, midnight air.

The three of them were waiting at the top of the tower, where Charlie's friends would be meeting them and taking Norbert. It had been an emotional good bye down at Hagrid's hut. The gamekeeper had cried and Norbert had coughed fire and ripped the head off his teddy bear.

'There!' shouted Harry suddenly.

Sure enough, two men on broomsticks were soaring through the sky. They landed neatly on the tower and, after hurried greetings, carefully strapped Norbert's crate into a harness. Charlie's friends were cheerful but, as Carina, Harry and Hermione waved them off, it was with a definite sense of relief.

'Thank goodness,' breathed Hermione weakly, as they walked down the stairs of the tower.

Carina couldn't agree more. She made a note to find out when Hagrid's birthday was and buy him a nice, safe goldfish.

'Well, well, we are in trouble.'

Carina nearly jumped out of her skin. Once she'd recovered, it felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head. None other than Argus Filch was standing at the bottom of the staircase. Mrs Norris was weaving between his ankles and both of them wore the triumphant look of having caught a suspect red-handed.

/

The following weeks at Hogwarts were far from fun. Between them, the first year Gryffindors had lost so many points for being caught out of bed in the middle of the night, that the rest of the house had turned against them.

Normally, Carina would have refused to care what people thought about her. Unfortunately, this time, she felt the anger was deserved. A bunch of first years losing fifty points a piece for wandering around at night for no apparent reason was certainly enough to get annoyed about.

Hermione was taking the antipathy worse, especially since she had been relatively unknown beyond first years. Harry, who, like Carina, was used to gossip about himself, was faring slightly better. But, again like Carina, he felt their punishment was deserved.

They had also been given detention and it was this that provided the only ray of sunshine for Carina. In his efforts to get Carina and the others in trouble, Draco Malfoy had also been caught out of bed on the night of Norbert's flight. So, one evening, he was to be found reluctantly accompanying Carina, Harry and Hermione down to the Forbidden Forest.

Draco muttered furiously all the way there- mainly variations of 'my father will hear about this.' Carina took grim satisfaction in her cousin's distress. They had not spoken since the incident in the library shortly after Christmas, and Carina was already beginning to wonder how on earth she was going to survive the long summer holidays when forced back to Malfoy Manor.

Hagrid met them near the edge of the trees. A lamp dangled from one hand and- slightly worryingly- he carried a crossbow in the other. Fang bounded happily by his feet and, when the others arrived, jumped up to try and lick Harry's face. Evidently, the boarhound thought he was off on nothing more than a fun walk with lots of people.

'Alright, Harry? Carina, Hermione?'

Draco pulled a face and rolled his eyes. No doubt it had just occurred to him that he would not be getting any preferential treatment in this detention.

'I thought you were joking about the forest,' he said. 'I'm not going in there!' Carina and Harry exchanged a pleased look at the unmistakable note of fear in Draco's voice.

'You will if you want to stay at Hogwarts,' said Hagrid firmly.

'What are we doing in the forest, Hagrid?' asked Hermione nervously.

Hagrid looked into the trees and frowned. 'Something's been hurting a unicorn. I've been finding lots of blood whenever I go in there. It's up to us to find the poor beast. We might have to put it out of it's misery.'

Hermione glanced at Carina ominously.

'But Hagrid, what could hurt a unicorn? They're so hard to catch.' Carina pointed out. She could tell that Hermione was thinking along similar lines.

'Well exactly,' agreed Hagrid. 'That's why we need to find out what's going on. Now, we're going to split into two groups.' He gave them the once over, deciding how to divide them up. 'Hermione and Malfoy you come with me. Harry and Carina, you two stick together. Take Fang. He's a bloody coward but he'll come and find me if there's trouble. Anyone find anything, send up sparks.'

Hagrid led the way through the trees. Fang bounded along without a care in the world, but it was with a sense of apprehension that Carina followed the game keeper. They walked together for a few minutes but, when they reached a fork in the path, Hagrid gestured for Carina and Harry to take the left one.

'Remind me of the school rules?' muttered Harry, once the two of them were alone. 'The Forbidden Forest is out of bounds, except for when teachers fancy sending you in there for a detention.'

'Makes as much sense as keeping a deadly three headed dog in the place,' agreed Carina.

They were getting deeper into the forest now. The tree canopy effectively blocked out the moonlight, plunging them into darkness.

'What was that light spell you used in the Restricted Section?' asked Harry.

' _Lumos.'_

The both lit their wands and edged cautiously down the path. For self-preservation purposes, neither of them spoke much; they didn't want to be found by something else before they found the unicorn.

It was too quiet though, mused Carina as they walked into even thicker trees and darkness. The Forbidden Forest was teeming with life, everyone knew that. Much of it was nocturnal yet, in this part of the woods at least, there seemed to be nothing around. For some reason, this made Carina more uneasy than if the place had been abuzz with noisy beasts.

'Look!' called Harry suddenly.

Carina hurried over to her friend. He was pointing at a mossy rock, upon which unmistakable pools of blood glistened in the light of their wands.

'It's silver,' marveled Harry. 'Is that unicorn blood then?'

'I think so,' whispered Carina.

'We should send up sparks,' said Harry. 'Hagrid will want to see this.'

But Carina was no longer listening. Something had caught her attention, something just beyond the nearest trees. It was a rustling, nothing more. The sound of a cloak moving in the breeze, the sound of a being gliding across forest floor. But, at that moment, it felt like the loudest sound in the world.

It was calling to her, drawing her in. Every instinct Carina possessed told her to scream and to run in the opposite direction. Yet, equally, that did not matter. Nothing else mattered apart from reaching the source of the noise.

The light had been extinguished from her wand, but she did not care. She didn't care about anything anymore. Carina moved, trance-like, into the trees. She was vaguely aware of Harry shouting her, of the sight of red sparks being shot into the air, but Carina ignored it all.

She emerged into a clearing, where a gap in the trees allowed a pool of moonlight to flood in. The unicorn lay in the middle of the path, its legs sprawled at odd angles, yet still strangely beautiful even in death. Leant over the unicorn was a cloaked figure. Carina knew instinctively that this was the thing that had drawn her in.

The being moved quickly, standing up to full height and drifting towards her. Carina could not have screamed even if she wanted to. And she didn't want to. Nothing seemed to matter much at that moment. Snape and the Stone, doing well in lessons, her friends. None of it was real.

Carina was almost in touching distance of the figure. Then, from nowhere, hooves galloped into the clearing. There was shouting and a great deal of commotion. Next thing Carina was aware of, the cloaked figure had disappeared and Harry was standing in front of her looking concerned.

'Are you alright?' he practically shouted. 'I've sent up sparks. Hagrid should be here in a minute.'

'Yeah, I'm fine,' lied Carina. It was like waking up suddenly from a dream. Why had she gone to pieces like that?

'Carina Lestrange.'

It took Carina a minute to realise that she was not hallucinating and that there was, in fact, a centaur standing in the clearing addressing her.

'What was that thing?' demanded Harry.

'A monstrous creature,' said the centaur somberly.

'What did it want with the unicorn?' breathed Carina. She was feeling very shaky, as though recovering from a nasty bout of flu. 'It was drinking it's blood.'

The centaur eyed Carina and Harry carefully. 'Unicorn blood will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death. But, by slaying a creature so pure, you are doomed to a cursed life.'

'But who would choose such a life?' asked Harry.

'Can you think of no one? Perhaps someone who has waited ten years to return to power? Someone who would not concern himself with the consequences of murdering the innocent? Someone who just needed unicorn blood until another, more powerful substance could be obtained?'

Harry and Carina looked at one another in horror.

'Voldemort,' said Harry.

'The Elixir of Life,' gasped Carina at the same time.

'What's going on?' came a loud voice from behind them. 'Who sent up sparks?'

Hagrid thundered into the clearing, with Hermione and Draco stumbling along in his wake. The game keeper took in the scene: the unicorn laying sprawled in the moonlight; the centaur, cutting an impressive figure amongst the trees; and Carina and Harry, both of whom were very pale.

'Hagrid,' the centaur nodded at the new arrivals. 'The foals must be taken out of the Forest immediately. You need to take care yourself. There is evil at work here.'

'Come on you two,' urged Hagrid. He glanced at the unicorn again. 'I'll be back, Firenze. You can give me some straight answers for once.'

Fang led the way out of the clearing, seemingly glad to be heading home to safety. Carina, however, hung back for a moment.

'Thank you,' she said quietly to Firenze the centaur. 'I think you might have just saved my life.'

Firenze looked at her with interest. 'I have seen your movements in the planets, Carina Lestrange. You understanding nothing at the moment. But you will.'

Carina was slightly taken aback by this proclamation. 'Should I be worried about something? What have you seen about me in the heavens?'

'Everything. We see all you have been and all you might one day be. As for which path may choose you, we cannot say. We merely observe. But you shall find out soon, Carina Lestrange. Soon you shall understand a great deal more about yourself.'

/

It was two o clock in the morning. The Gryffindor common room was deserted, except for Carina, Harry, Ron and Hermione. They sat bundled in the best chairs by the fire, discussing the startling events of the forest. Ron, who had only just returned from the hospital wing with his dragon bite, looked like he couldn't believe his ears.

'You're saying You Know Who was in the Forest? Tonight?' he gulped.

'Yes,' insisted Harry. 'He was drinking unicorn blood to keep himself alive. Until he can get the Philosopher's Stone.'

'Snape wants the Stone for Voldemort,' added Carina.

Ron sunk back into chair. 'Bloody hell. And I've been spending all my time worrying about failing Potions. What do we do?'

The four friends all looked at one another. It was a momentous situation that faced them and, by the look on their faces, none of them had any idea how best to proceed.

'Look,' said Ron bracingly. 'We know there are plenty of enchantments protecting the Stone, not just Fluffy. And we have no proof that Snape has gotten past any of them. The teachers know what they're doing.'

'And there's Dumbledore,' reasoned Hermione. 'With Dumbledore here, the Stone's safe.'

'That didn't stop Voldemort from lurking around the forest tonight,' murmured Carina. She pulled her cloak tighter around herself. She still felt very shaky after the experience in the clearing. Something had drawn here there. It had felt like compulsion.

Harry eyed her with concern. 'Are you okay? What did happen down there?'

'I don't know,' shrugged Carina honestly. 'It was like I had no free will. I knew it was dangerous and that I should run away, but I couldn't and I didn't want to.'

Ron looked scared at this and visibly gulped. But when he spoke it was with a deliberately reassuring tone of voice. 'You Know Who used to use the worst kind of magic, really Dark stuff. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just be grateful that centaur was there.'

'But why me?' persisted Carina. 'Why did that happen to me?'

'It could as easily have been me,' said Harry sympathetically. 'Don't beat yourself up about it.'

Carina, however, could not feel reassured by her friends. After a while, they decided to finally call it a night and go to bed. Hermione fell asleep straight away, but Carina lay awake, staring up at the canopy of her bed.

Why had she felt drawn into Voldemort like that? Was it to do with her parents? Perhaps he sensed the daughter of his most loyal supporters, and thought Carina might have come to his aid.

No, said a small voice in her head. It was more than that. You know it was.

 **Thanks so much for reading guys. It's really lovely to see people clicking follow/ favourite. As always, please leave a review!**

 **So next chapter will be the last one of first year. It will feature the 'through the trapdoor' sequence and the first (of many) meetings between Carina and Dumbledore.**

 **xx**


	5. Year One Part Five

Somehow, despite spending most of her time thinking about Voldemort, Carina made it through the end of year exams. Unfortunately, none of them were especially challenging, which left her lots of opportunity to mull things over. Carina doubted she would forget the events of the Forest until her dying day.

The only positive was that Snape had so far been unsuccessful in his efforts to steal the Stone. The potions master was still swishing around, looking as moody as ever and deducting house points for the smallest indiscretions. What's more, Carina, Harry, Ron and Hermione were taking it in turns to press their ear up against the third floor corridor and check that Fluffy was still there.

The final exam was History of Magic and Carina was both relieved and nervous once it was over. On the one hand, she was fed up of taking examinations that, in her view, were pointlessly simple. But, on the other, she was now faced with even more time to spend stewing over Voldemort. Carina had still not worked out why she had followed him into the clearing but she felt as though she were missing something obvious. It was as if a small voice was constantly at work in her head, telling her the answer, but the main part of her brain was ignoring it.

At the end of the last exam, Carina and the other Gryffindors were planning on spending the afternoon lounging around by the lake. However, Draco caught her attention as they were all leaving the examination room.

'Just go ahead, I'll see you down there,' she said to Harry, Ron and Hermione, all of whom were looking at Draco with apprehension.

To Carina's surprise, Draco was not looking quite so cocky as usual. He was not even surrounded by Crabbe and Goyle for once. Wondering what her cousin might want, Carina followed him into a spare classroom.

'What's up?' she asked, as Draco closed the door behind them.

He hesitated for a moment. 'I want to know what happened in the Forest the other night.'

'What do you mean?' asked Carina. She had not been expecting this. As far as she was aware, Hagrid, Hermione and Draco had arrived after Firenze had chased Voldemort off; they had seen nothing more than the dead unicorn.

'I've looked up unicorn blood,' said Draco quietly. He stared at her curiously. 'I read that it can give you immortality.'

Carina was even more surprised at this. 'Why did you do that?'

Draco shrugged. 'I was interested in why something would try and kill one. Besides, I know something happened before we got there- you were white as a sheet.'

Carina weighed up her options, and settled on the truth. She saw no reason in trying to hide what had happened from Draco; the more people who were aware that the Dark Lord still lingered, the better. Plus, she was intrigued to see what her cousin's reaction would be. 'It was Voldemort.'

Draco shuddered at the name and looked at her in disbelief. ' _He_ was in the Forest?'

'Yes. He's not exactly human. I assume unicorn blood is what keeps him alive.' She did not want to go so far as to mention the Stone, just in case Draco relayed any of this in Snape's hearing.

Draco had gone even paler than usual. To her surprise, however, he seemed to believe her. 'I know Father says he's gone, but a lot of people think differently, don't they?'

'I doubt Lucius would be too pleased if he ever did return,' pointed out Carina drily.

Draco chose to ignore this. 'But what was he doing here? And how were you involved?'

Carina sighed deeply. 'I don't know, Draco,' I honestly don't understand it. I felt- ' she hesitated, unsure why she was suddenly confiding in her cousin, '-I felt compelled towards him.'

'But why you?'

'I don't know!' she exclaimed in frustration. 'There's so much that doesn't make sense. Like why your parents are so scared about me being Sorted into Gryffindor. And why they're so disappointed with me but never seem to dare confront me on anything.'

'What's that got to do with anything?' asked Draco in bewilderment.

Carina ran her hands through her hair in frustration. 'I have no idea. But it's all connected. There's something I don't know. Or maybe something I do know but can't accept.'

'But you're alright then?'

Carina eyed her cousin with ill-disguised suspicion. They'd spent most of the school year as rivals, yet here he was, asking after her well being? 'What's it to you?'

Draco fired up at once. 'What is the matter with you? Why are you always so suspicious about everything? I'm literally just asking if you're okay and you get so defensive.'

Carina bit back a retort. Perhaps Draco was being genuine. It went against everything she knew about her cousin but, still. 'Okay, Draco,' she sighed. 'I'm fine thank you.'

Draco rolled his eyes at her and stormed towards the door, clearing regretting his moment of concern for his cousin. 'Well, this summer is going to be so much fun, isn't it? The two of us cooped up in the same house for two months. I can't wait!'

He stomped out of the classroom into the Entrance Hall, and skulked downstairs towards the Slytherin common room. No doubt he would seek out Crabbe and Goyle and moan about how ungrateful his bloody cousin was.

Now in an even more irritable mood than she had been when she'd finished the exam, Carina wandered slowly out of the castle and down to the lake.

Why did she always feel the need to goad Draco so much? Yes, he was a pain most of the time. But perhaps it wasn't his fault that he'd been brought up to believe all the pure blood dogma; Lucius had drummed his own hateful ideology into Draco practically from birth. Still, thought Carina, Draco could have done a bit more to try and be a better person.

She was still deep in thought about her cousin and the rest of their family, when she noticed that the others were nowhere to be found by the lake. Carina wandered over to the water's edge, where Fred and George were sitting with Lee Jordan. All three boys looked very relaxed, especially since the third years still had a couple of exams to go.

'Hiya Carina,' grinned George as she made her way over to the three boys.

'Finished revision?' she raised an eyebrow.

Fred waved this away without concern. 'Not allowed to revise actually. You see, we're just so clever that the teachers have said it'll be unfair on the other students if we put in some revision effort as well.'

Carina snorted, imagining Hermione's reaction to this lax approach to revision.

'Okay, sure. Anyway have you seen Harry, Ron and Hermione? They said they would be down here.'

George sat up and glanced around lazily. 'Oh, yeah, they were here a few minutes ago. Suddenly jumped up and ran off back up through the grounds.'

'Hermione probably gone to check she didn't drop half a mark,' sniggered Fred.

Carina was immediately alert. She was pretty sure the only thing that would get between her friends and post- exams relaxation was news on either Voldemort or the Philosopher's Stone.

She kept her voice deliberately casual in front of the boys. 'Yeah probably. I'll go and find them.'

'Post-exams party in the common room, tonight!' called Lee.

'You don't even finish your exams for another two days,' pointed out Carina.

The three boys shrugged unconcernedly and went back to their relaxation.

Carina hurried back up the grassy slope. Her mind whirled with possibilities. Had the others found out something? And where on earth would they be?

She raced back into the castle and took the stairs two at a time. Gryffindor Tower seemed the best place to start. Carina was half way there when a familiar set of voices drifted towards her from along the empty corridors.

'... we've got to do something else.'

'But what?'

Carina tore round the corner and gave Harry, Ron and Hermione such a fright that Hermione dropped the exam paper she still had clutched in her hand from earlier.

'What are you playing at?' demanded Ron. 'Jumping out at people when You Know Who is on the loose?'

'If I were Voldemort, you'd all be dead by now what with the racket you were making.'

'Shut up you two,' said Harry, seeing off a potential argument. 'Listen, Carina, Snape knows how to get past Fluffy.'

'Well it was only a matter of time. How can you be sure?'

'Snape was the one who gave Hagrid the dragon egg in the pub and, in return, Hagrid told him that all you needed to do was play music and Fluffy would go to sleep.'

The magnitude of this revelation took a moment to sink in and, when it did, Carina realized how much trouble they were in. Snape was undoubtedly a very skilled wizard. If he had worked out how to get past the dog, who was to say he hadn't also figured out the other teachers' enchantments?

'Right that settles it. We go to Dumbledore.'

The other three exchanged looks.

'What?'

'Dumbledore's gone!' exclaimed Hermione in despair. 'He got an owl summoning him to the Ministry.'

'Well that was clearly Snape,' said Carina instantly.

'That's what we thought,' nodded Ron.

'And McGonagall's not interested,' added Hermione. 'She told us to leave the Stone alone. Then we ran into Snape-'

'What?' Carina shouted in interruption.

'He knew we were up to something. I swear he can read minds,' muttered Harry furiously.

The situation was so serious that Carina did not bother to lecture Harry on the intricacies of Legilimency. 'Right, we need a plan,' insisted Carina. 'Look, the best we can do is try and stop Snape getting the Stone. Dumbledore will be back soon- I bet he'll get to the Ministry and realise something's wrong. If we can just hold Snape off until then.'

Ron gulped at the prospect of 'holding Snape off' but he looked determined nonetheless.

'Agreed,' said Hermione. 'Two of us can stake out the staff room, the other two guard the third floor.'

In the end they decided that the boys would wait on the third floor, and the girls would hang around by the staff room. If they were apprehended by Snape or another teacher, Carina and Hermione were going to pretend to want to discuss their exams; had Harry or Ron done this, it would have been seen as incredibly fishy.

'Are you alright?' Carina asked as they waited just along the corridor from the staff room.

Hermione was leaning against the stone wall, looking flustered but resolute.

'Yes,' she said determinedly. 'Now, what's the plan? I say we just ask for Flitwick and-'

She broke off suddenly, and Carina soon saw why. None other than Snape himself was striding along the corridor, cloak swishing about his heels. He paused in front of the girls and raised an eyebrow. 'May I help Miss Lestrange, Miss Granger?'

'We wanted to see Professor Flitwick,' squeaked Hermione.

Snape looked between the two girls with great suspicion. He smirked slightly. 'In that case, follow me.'

And Carina and Hermione had no choice but to allow themselves to be shepherded towards the staff room.

/

'What a disaster!' exclaimed Carina, sinking onto the sofa in between Harry and Ron. Hermione hovered anxiously in front of them, apparently too nervous to sit down.

The two girls had been taken to see Professor Flitwick by Snape, who had then promptly disappeared. Between them, they had had to make up a story about exam results for the Charms teacher. For his part, Flitwick was so preoccupied with praising both girls on their examination performances that it had taken a good twenty minutes to get away. Once they'd returned to the common room, they'd found the boys looking dejected, having been caught by McGonagall yet again.

'Snape knows we know something,' muttered Hermione nervously.

'Well that it then, isn't it?' said Harry quietly.

Carina stared at him. He was paler than usual and his green eyes were sparkling in the firelight. 'I'm going out of here tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first.'

Ron and Hermione gaped at him as though they had never heard of a more reckless plan.

'Alright,' agreed Carina. 'I'm coming too.'

Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance, and silent understanding seemed to pass between them.

'Count me in,' grimaced Ron.

'And me,' squeaked Hermione.

'Hang on,' said Harry, holding a hand up. 'If we're caught, you three will be expelled.'

'Not likely,' muttered Carina. 'I'm not going back to the Malfoys full time.'

'We're not letting you go alone, mate,' said Ron firmly to Harry. Hermione nodded quickly in agreement.

'But, if we all go, who's going to raise the alarm if something happens to us?' protested Harry. He seemed to be searching for a flaw in the plan.

Carina thought for a moment. 'Right, I'm going to send an owl to Dumbledore. If he's at the Ministry, it'll find him and tell him what's going on. Then I'll meet you back here and we'll go through the trapdoor at midnight.'

'I'll come too,' insisted Harry. 'We can use Hedwig.'

'No!' Carina shook her head, and then lowered her voice as some curious fourth years looked over in their direction. 'Not many people have snowy owls here, Harry. The last thing we want is for Snape to happen to look out of his window and work out we've sent for help. Besides, if we all go it'll look suspect. But if it's just me, well it's not a crime to send a letter, is it?'

/

A few minutes later, and Carina was hurrying out of Gryffindor Tower towards the home of Hogwarts' owls. She had a quill and parchment under her arm, not wanting to risk writing the letter yet in case she ran into Snape and it was confiscated. Carina glanced down at her wristwatch; she needed to hurry up unless she wanted to be caught out of bed after hours. That was hardly what she needed tonight.

'Miss Lestrange?'

Carina jumped at the sudden noise and turned around. Professor Quirrell was sticking his head out of a classroom door. He looked quite peculiar. His features were not twitching as they usually did, nor did he wear the normal scared expression he displayed when faced with students. In fact, he was smiling rather horribly.

Carina stayed where she was. Something was very wrong here. She glanced around the corridor, very aware that no one else was around.

'Miss Lestrange,' said Quirrell, still grinning. 'Please come here, I require your assistance with something.'

Slowly, the Defence teacher's hand drifted to his wand pocket.

Carina spun on her heel and sprinted down the corridor. She made it a few feet before a Stunning Spell collided with her back. Then it was blackness and nothing more.

/

It might have been minutes, hours or days later when Carina's eyes flickered open.

For a few long moments, she had no memory of anything, and no clue as to where she might be. Everything ached, although that seemed to be from the hard, stone floor that she was lying on. The room was very warm, and she could feel fire dancing in front of her eyes- her vision didn't seem to be working properly.

Carina was vaguely aware of someone shouting her name but she could not have said who the voice belonged to.

She furiously blinked a few times and forced herself to raise her head from the ground. She automatically reached for her wand but her pocket was empty.

'CARINA!'

Harry was standing several feet away, yelling at her.

Carina shuffled into a seating position and squinted around the room. It was a large, dark chamber, lit only by several fires that flickered around the walls. In the centre of the room stood the Mirror of Erised, looking even more mysterious in the dimmed light. And, in front of that, stood- Professor Quirrell.

'YOU!' she shouted. With a surprise burst of energy, Carina leapt to her feet and ran over to Harry.

Quirrell stood in front of the mirror, quite still. He was not twitching, rather, he was looking at the two first years with great interest. The teacher reached into a pocket and produced Carina's wand. He rolled it between his fingers lazily.

'Give that back!' demanded Carina pointlessly. She felt horribly exposed, standing before an enemy without her wand. And Quirrell! How could it have been Quirrell, not Snape? Who would have suspected the quivering man, scared of his own shadow, over Snape, the former Death Eater who existed to make student's lives hell?

'I see you are awake.' Quirrell nodded at Carina. 'You have just missed me informing Potter here about how you were wrong about everyone's favourite Potions teacher.'

'You Stunned me!'

'Yes, I know. It was disappointingly easy to do so.' Quirrell eyed her. 'You see, something is going to happen here tonight and you, Miss Lestrange, are quite as important to that as the Philosopher's Stone.'

Carina gaped at the Defence teacher, unable to understand his thought trail. Quirrell being after the Stone and immortality was one thing- mad as it was- but what part did she have to play? A million ideas were jumping around in her head but most of them were useless without a wand. She assumed Harry must still have his but any communication between the two of them and Quirrell might hear.

If it seemed that the situation could not get any more baffling, it suddenly took an even more surprisingly turn. Rather than run at them and attack, as Carina had expected, Professor Quirrell slowly began to unravel his turban. Carina quickly glanced up at Harry to see what she had missed whilst Stunned but he seemed just as confused as she was.

'ARGHHH!'

Carina was only half aware that she was screaming. Next to her, Harry had almost jumped out of his skin.

Where most people had a back of the head, Quirrell had a face. A second set of features warped out from the opposite side of his skull, horrible and menacing.

It was Voldemort.

Carina knew that without ever having met Voldemort or without Quirrell saying a word. She just knew it was him.

'Harry Potter,' breathed the second face. 'Carina Lestrange.'

Carina didn't ask how Voldemort knew her name. She was rooted to the spot and doubted she would ever speak again.

'See what I have become? See what I have had to do to survive? After tonight, I shall return full-fledged and strong to my own body. I will no longer have to depend on unicorn blood or weaker wizards.' Voldemort's eyes flickered between the two first years. They rested on Carina for an unsettlingly long time before moving onto Harry. 'Now, Potter, I need you to give me the Stone in your pocket!'

'NO!' yelled Harry, pulling out his own wand.

Quirrell advanced on them, walking backwards so that Voldemort was facing his victims. In a moment of desperation, Carina leapt at the teacher who was still holding her wand in his pocket. But, in her panic to defend herself and her friend, Carina forgot she was a twelve year old girl. Quirrell knocked her to the floor with ease and raised his wand.

But then Harry also jumped up. He leapt at Quirrell who, taken by surprise, turned his wand away from Carina. As Quirrell ran at Harry, Carina threw herself on the teacher's wand arm, trying to Disarm him. Dumbledore will be back soon, she thought desperately. We just need to hold him off until then.

But suddenly, Quirrell was retreating. He stumbled backwards, clutching his smoking face and screaming. Harry launched himself at the man, touching every inch of skin that he could reach.

Quirrell seemed to be falling in on himself. He lost his balance and fell to his knees. Both of the faces were screaming impossibly loudly. With a great thud, Quirrell collapsed face down onto the hard, stone floor. As he did so, his body twisted horribly and a great silver smoke emerged from his back. The smoke disappeared off into the air and Quirrell moved no more.

/

Two days after the dramatic events with Professor Quirrell, Carina could be found sitting in a secluded part of the grounds with Ron and Hermione. Harry was still in the hospital wing and, to their annoyance, the three friends had been banned from visiting him by a harassed-looking Madam Pomfrey.

Instead, they had taken refuge outside. Not only was it a warm summer's day, but the rest of Hogwarts was very interested in the events that had taken place through the trapdoor. Somehow, within hours of the first years emerging safely from Quirrell's clutches, the whole school had heard the story. Now, wherever they went, Carina, Ron and Hermione were hassled with questions.

Admittedly, it was better than being hated for losing fifty house points a piece, but Carina had too much on her mind to deal with nosy students as well. Ron and Hermione had filled her in on the part of the night that she'd been Stunned for. How they had searched for Carina and, when she was no where to be found, got worried that something had happened and Snape had gone for the Stone. Carina was amazed to hear about all the obstacles they had faced, not least Ron's superb game of chess.

For her own part, Carina had then explained what had happened to her. She told Ron and Hermione all about Quirrell Stunning her and taking her through the trapdoor, and about how Harry's touch had burned the teacher's skin. She'd even told her friends the most significant part of the night for her: the fact that Voldemort had somehow required her in order to return to his full powers.

Ron and Hermione had been full of speculation about this.

'Maybe it's because of who your parents are,' mused Ron. 'He probably needed someone associated with Death Eaters.'

'I think it's more likely to be something to do with your friendship with Harry,' said Hermione thoughtfully.

Carina was happy to let them think along such lines. She had barely slept since the ordeal. Instead, every second had been taken up with mulling over Quirrell's reasons for choosing her. Carina had no desire to push this burden onto her friends as well.

'Hope Harry can leave the hospital wing tomorrow,' said Ron, stretching out and trailing his hand into the surface of the lake. 'He's missing out on so much.'

Hermione looked up from over the top of her book (she was getting started on second year work already) and eyed Ron skeptically.

'Oh come on! I deserve some relaxation after all we've been through.'

'Hmph,' said Hermione, returning her attention to her book. But, for once, she did not press the point.

Ron grinned and laid back down onto the grass. 'It's only taken you a year to like me, Hermione. Oh no, what does Snape want, we haven't done anything!'

Carina scrambled up right and gazed across the lawns. Sure enough, Professor Snape was hurrying across the grass, his black cloak looking very out of place for the warm weather.

The Potions master came to a halt a few feet away from Carina, Ron and Hermione. It was with a particularly large sneer that he looked down at them; no doubt he had now found out that they had originally suspected him as the Stone's budding thief.

'Miss Lestrange, please come with me.' Snape ignored the other two as though they did not exist.

'Why? I mean, why, Professor?' she added hastily, as Snape raised his eyebrows.

'The headmaster wishes to speak with you. Do not ask me why, as I do not know. Now, hurry up. I do not have unlimited leisure time.'

With a forlorn look at Hermione and Ron, Carina reluctantly got up and followed Snape back up to the castle. He remained silent for the entire walk and she was certainly not going to initiate conversation.

As they walked briskly into the Entrance Hall and up the staircase, Carina watched the back of Snape's head thoughtfully. She wondered if he'd known her parents. Probably joined them on some nice torture missions back in the good old days, she thought bitterly.

Snape had come to a half in front of a large winged statue. At his words, the statue sprung to life and revealed a set of narrow stone steps.

'Well go on then.' Snape gestured towards the staircase with his head.

Feeling apprehensive, Carina walked slowly up the stairs. At the top, she found a door left open.

'Come in, Carina.'

Carina edged into the room and found herself in a light and airy office. Long windows illuminated shelf upon shelf of books. Several spindly instruments rested on tables and cabinets, and a magnificent red phoenix chirped away on a perch.

Professor Dumbledore sat behind a large desk, his elbows resting on the surface and the tips of his fingers together. He looked much calmer than Carina felt.

'Please, do sit down.'

Carina took a seat opposite the headmaster feeling both awkward and on edge. She had never been alone with Dumbledore before. To do so for the first time in the aftermath of such a significant event made her feel very nervous.

'So, Carina, I have some excellent news. Harry has recovered well and may receive visitors this afternoon. I have managed to convince Madam Pomfrey to make an exception and allow you, Miss Granger and Mr Weasley to see him later on.'

'That's fantastic, sir!' breathed Carina happily. 'Is he okay?'

'He'll be fine,' nodded Dumbledore. 'I do however require something from you I'm afraid. I must ask you to tell me the sequences of events that led to you ending up in the room with Quirrell.'

Carina swallowed uncomfortably. She had been expecting this. She had briefly seen Dumbeldore that night as he arrived just after Quirrell had collapsed. But the preoccupation had been getting Harry to the hospital wing so they had barely discussed what had happened.

Sensing no point in concealing the story, Carina explained how the four of them had come to know about the Stone. Dumbledore did not comment when she confessed to having suspected Snape, but merely encouraged her to carry on. It was only when they reached the events in the Forbidden Forest that the headmaster showed a proper reaction.

'You say you felt compelled into the clearing?' he enquired lightly.

'Yes,' said Carina desperately. 'It was like my free will was gone. It was only when Firenze appeared that it was broken.'

Dumbledore looked closely at her for a moment but didn't press the point. 'Please continue.'

Carina explained the rest of the story, up to the point where Quirrell had Stunned her and brought her with him through the trapdoor.

'But why me? Quirrell definitely said it was important that I was there, that I had a part to play in bringing Voldemort back.'

Dumbledore considered her for a moment. 'What do you think?'

For a moment, Carina wondered if she should tell Dumbledore everything. If she should confess the fears and suspicions that had kept her awake ever since she'd seen Voldemort. It might feel good to unburden onto someone else, to get some reassurance.

But, as quickly as it had arrived, this feeling passed. Saying it aloud would make it real and there would be no going back. Dumbledore would watch her forever, she would never be left alone. Harry and the others might find out.

Carina rearranged her face to look convincing, and then lied directly to the headmaster. 'I think he needed someone associated with the Death Eaters, sir. Although I can't pretend to understand the magic.'

Dumbledore gazed at her for a long moment; his eyes were very penetrating. Finally, he broke eye contact and sighed. 'I think that is a sensible conclusion to draw. Now, you may go and visit Harry should you wish.'

/

In no time at all, the students found themselves on the Hogwarts Express back to King's Cross. Carina, Harry, Ron and Hermione took a compartment to themselves and reminisced happily about the last few days of term. Everyone's highlight had been the look on Draco's face when Gryffindor's House Cup victory had been secured by Dumbledore's last minute points.

'Wish I'd had a camera,' laughed Ron, as he took a large bite out of a cauldron cake. 'Absolutely priceless.'

'At least I have something good to wind him up with over the summer,' muttered Carina. She was trying to stay up beat and enjoy the last few hours with her friends, but the prospect of two months at Malfoy Manor was thoroughly depressing.

'Cheer up. I'm going to invite you all to stay,' shrugged Ron.

Carina watched Ron start on a chocolate frog with great envy. Not about the chocolate, obviously, but because he was going back to a happy home. She, on the other hand, was returning to an isolated, lonely manor where the only person she liked talking to was the house elf. Plus, Carina had lots of work to do. Research mainly, into her mother. She might even ask Narcissa some subtle questions depending on if she could face it. At the moment, all Carina wanted to do was bury her head under a duvet and not emerge until September.

Hermione helped herself to a chocolate frog and pulled a familiar book from her bag.

'How many times have you read that now?' grinned Carina, pointing to the well-thumbed copy of _Hogwarts: A History._

'You're one to talk. Besides, this book is how we became friends in the first place remember? I probably wouldn't have started conversation with you on the train last year if I hadn't seen you reading it.'

Harry and Ron exchanged a look and both rolled their eyes at the same time. 'You two are such swots.'

Hermione vented her feelings by through her chocolate frog card at Ron. It caught him sharply on the chin. 'Ouch!'

Carina and Harry both burst out laughing. Hermione smiled despite herself and, once he'd made a show of rubbing his chin, even Ron joined in.

It was a nice feeling, sitting there and laughing with friends. So Carina just enjoyed it and let thoughts of Voldemort float out of her mind. There would be plenty of time for mulling things over during the holidays. For now, she just wanted to be normal girl having fun with her best friends.

 **Okay so that's year one done with. Next chapter will focus on the summer before the gang's second year at Hogwarts. I can promise Dobby, lots of Malfoys, and some further investigation into Carina's background. I'm hoping to post it at some point over the weekend.**

 **Thanks again to everyone who has been reading, following and favouriting. If you're feeling nice please leave a review as it's so lovely to read them.**


	6. Year Two: Part One

Carina Lestrange had been 'home' at Malfoy Manor for three weeks. In that space of time she had hatched at least four daring escape attempts, most of them involving setting Lucius Malfoy's precious hair on fire and then soaring off on her broom into the sunset.

Unfortunately, being an underage witch who was yet to turn thirteen made all of this impossible. So, instead, she had spent most of her time moping around and counting down the days until she could return to Hogwarts.

She'd also written so many letters to Ron and Hermione that she was certain they must have gotten fed up of her. Ron had invited Carina to stay but Lucius had made his views on the matter known very quickly. Normally, Carina would have found a way to just go anyway but she was concerned that her uncle might use it as an excuse to give Arthur Weasley an even tougher time at the Ministry; for the past fortnight, Lucius had spoken of little else but Ron's dad's new 'pro-muggle' legislation.

Carina had also written to Harry. Unfortunately, it seemed as though the Dursleys must have locked Hedwig in her cage, because she had yet to receive a response. The thought of how fed up Harry must be only made Carina feel more depressed.

Her cousin, Draco, hadn't helped matters. Back on his own territory, he was constantly strutting around making snide comments about Carina being Sorted into Gryffindor and befriending Mudbloods.

Lucius and Narcissa had not yet mentioned Gryffindor-Gate to Carina. They had been perfectly friendly- well, as friendly as pure blood nutters got- but seemed to be deliberately avoiding mention of Carina's House, friends, or general attitude towards life.

The only person in the house that Carina spent much time talking to was Dobby, the Malfoys' long-suffering house elf. It had been to Dobby, not the rest of the family, that Carina had relayed her school stories. She had told him all about Gryffindor, about Harry, Ron and Hermione, and about the Philosopher's Stone. For his part, the elf had seemed very interested in her tales.

Dobby, however, was also unsettling Carina. He had taken to wandering into her room and opening his mouth as if he had something important to say. Then he would remember himself and whack his head against the nearest door frame. Since Carina was not a Malfoy, Dobby was under no obligation to obey her commands, so she had been unsuccessful in finding out whatever it was that Lucius was inevitably up to.

A few weeks into the holidays, Carina had overheard an interesting conversation between her aunt and uncle. It had been late one evening and, whilst going downstairs for a drink, Carina had heard whispered voices from the drawing room.

'... Narcissa, we have to act. We have to do something that would redeem us if _he_ ever returns. Or if your bloody sister ever gets out of prison for that matter.'

'I'm not scared of Bella, Lucius.'

'You should be, she's a nutcase. I'm sorry, I know she's your sister, but that's true. Bellatrix left Carina with us so she could be raised as a powerful Slytherin. We have failed in that regard.'

'We've not failed, Lucius. Carina's perfectly happy.'

'I doubt that will be good enough.'

'Listen Lucius, with the best will in the world it's highly unlikely we'll ever see either of Carina's parents again. So there's no need...'

Carina crept silently away from the door. She had heard enough to confirm her suspicions that Lucius was up to something, and enough to keep her awake all night thinking about Bellatrix Lestrange. Despite planning on finding out more about her past this summer, Carina had so far employed the 'burying one's head in the sand' approach. What she didn't know couldn't hurt her, right?

Vowing not to listen in on conversations again- or at least, until the next time she heard something interesting- Carina traipsed back up to bed without remembering the drink she'd wanted in the first place.

/

Summer dragged on, long and boring. Carina occupied herself by reading whatever book she could get her hand on and writing yet more letters to her friends.

The only upside was that she had now received a reply from Harry. According to his letter, his summer had been much more eventful than Carina's, apparently involving an unspecified magical incident, imprisonment by the Dursleys, and then rescue in the Weasleys' flying Ford Anglia.

Unsurprisingly, Carina had received a second letter shortly after Harry's. This time from Hermione, who had worked herself up into a state of great agitation at the thought of Harry and the Weasley brothers flying an illegal vehicle through the night. Carina had smiled at this, imagining, good-naturedly, how indignant Hermione would have been when she heard the news.

Both the boys' and Hermione's letters had also mentioned meeting up in London to do their school shopping. Carina was determined to go after the dullest couple of months of her life, but knew that Lucius' suspicions would immediately be raised if she requested to visit Diagon Alley on a specific date.

Instead, she conveniently left a copy of Which Broomstick lying around and let her spoilt cousin do the work for her.

'Father, father!' Draco arrived in the dining room and threw himself into his usual seat at the table.

Lucius raised an eyebrow. 'Yes, Draco?'

To Carina's delight, Draco was clutching the magazine in his hand. 'Father, pre-orders for the Nimbus 2001 start on Wednesday! I need to go to Diagon Alley that day.'

'Fine,' said Lucius casually. 'I have business of my own to attend to in London in any case.'

Carina put on her politest voice. 'Uncle Lucius, may I come too please? I need to get my school things.'

Lucius nodded and, anticipating victory, Carina pressed on. 'Plus there are so many new titles in Flourish and Blotts that I want to have a look at. I could spend hours in there. Did you that Newt Scamander has a new book out?'

Draco and Lucius exchanged looks of mild horror. Evidently spending a day browsing a bookshop was not their idea of fun.

'Yes well,' began Lucius, recovering himself. 'As I said, I have an appointment in Knockturn Alley. Carina, I will drop you off in Diagon Alley and you may get your books whilst I attend to my own business and buy Draco this broom.'

'Thank you,' Carina grinned. She turned her attention back to her dinner and ate with the renewed enthusiasm that followed the success of a well-laid plan.

/

On Wednesday morning, Carina woke up happy for the first time in a long while. She practically jumped out of bed at the prospect of seeing her friends again and was downstairs, being served toast by Dobby, before the rest of the family had so much as stirred.

'What's the matter, Dobby?' Carina asked for the fifth time that week, as the house elf dropped the teapot.

'Nothing, miss,' squeaked Dobby absent-mindedly as he hastily cleared away the wreckage before Lucius appeared. Carina frowned and helped him with the broom, but did not press the matter. Dobby must have kept so many dodgy secrets for the Malfoys over the years that Carina was surprised he hadn't exploded from the effort.

A few minutes later, Lucius emerged into the breakfast room, followed shortly by a very excited Draco. Lucius nodded good morning at Carina and then immersed himself in the morning's paper, pausing only to express his disgust at the 'usual pro- Mudblood agenda.'

Carina was trying to read her latest book, a very interesting history of the Statute of Secrecy. Draco, however, kept looking up trying to catch her eye. In the end, Carina gave in and look up from the page. 'Something the matter, Draco?'

'No,' said her cousin, his tone very smug. He made a show of buttering some toast and only answered a minute or so later. 'I'm just very much looking forward to getting this new broom. They say it makes the Nimbus 2000 look ancient by comparison. Potter won't look so good now, will he?'

Carina took the bait. 'Firstly, Draco, you are not even on the house team and, may I add, that's only likely to change if all the other Slytherins are suddenly expelled. Secondly, Harry could still play better than you even if he was riding a Cleansweep Two.'

Draco was about to bite back when Lucius cast aside his paper. 'Now, now, do not argue,' he said in his soft, very dangerous voice. Lucius' eyes roved from Draco over to Carina, where they narrowed slightly. Carina ignored him and turned her attention back to her book. Just a few more hours, she told herself. Then you'll be back with the others where you belong.

After breakfast, Carina, Lucius and Draco flooed to the Leaky Cauldron. Luckily, Narcissa was otherwise occupied and did not accompany them; this was good news for Carina who would have found it harder to shake off all three Malfoys. As it was, once they had emerged into the bright sunlight of Diagon Alley, Lucius and Draco left Carina to her own devices and set off for Knockturn Alley. Carina was mildly interested in what her uncle was up to, but too focused on seeing her friends to worry too much about it.

As she was a little early for meeting the others, Carina ducked into Flourish and Blotts and purchased the new Newt Scamander book she had been after; she would buy her school books when the others got there. Then she wandered over to the ice cream parlour, ordered the largest, most chocolatey item on the menu, and sat out in the sun to await the others.

Carina was there for some time, eating ice cream and reading her book about ten times quicker than the average person, when she caught a glimpse of a familiar face through the crowds.

'Alright, Carina?'

'Hello Hagrid,' grinned Carina. 'What are you doing here?'

The Hogwarts game keeper held up a bottle of rather toxic looking liquid. 'Flesh eating slug repellent,' he explained happily. 'Eating all the school cabbages, the buggers.'

'Well it's great to see you.' And it was. Any reminder of what Carina considered her real life- the one she lived with her friends outside the confines of Malfoy Manor- was a welcome relief. 'You haven't seen Harry, Ron or Hermione, have you?'

'As a matter of fact, I have. They were on the way to Gringotts, I think. Had to rescue Harry from Knockturn Alley, I did.'

'I won't ask,' laughed Carina rolling her eyes.

'Well, best be off. Need to get back to Hogwarts. I'll see you soon.'

Carina bade Hagrid goodbye, paid for her ice cream, and took off down the street towards the bank. She only had to wait outside for a few minutes before-

'Carina!'

Hermione had launched herself at Carina, hugging her furiously. 'Alright, let me breathe. Hi, Harry, Ron.'

The boys beamed back at her.

'So you must be Carina.' A short, kind- faced woman who could only have been Ron's mother, Mrs Weasley, was peering at Carina with interest. 'We've heard lots about you from Ron, of course.'

'Yes, hello,' smiled Carina, slightly awkwardly. The problem with meeting new people was that they immediately thought about the Lestranges. Mrs Weasley, however, seemed unconcerned and was smiling quite genuinely.

'Mum, we're going to go and look in the shops,' said Ron.

'Okay.' Mrs Weasley consulted her watch. 'I want you in Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your school books.'

Carina, Harry, Ron and Hermione took off down the street and wasted no time at all in filling each other in on their holidays so far.

'Are you sure Malfoy's getting the Nimbus 2001?' demanded Ron for the fourth time, as they browsed potions ingredients. Carina had explained about her cousin's latest purchase to the boys' horror. In turn, Harry had told Carina that he'd just run into Lucius trying to offload Dark items in Knockturn Alley; she was not in the least bit surprised.

'Don't worry about it, Ron,' insisted Carina. 'He's not even in the team, is he? And if he does somehow make it in, I'll just have to sabotage the broom. Joking, Hermione!'

Hermione rolled her eyes and then gestured to Harry. 'Tell Carina about what happened at your aunt and uncle's!'

'Oh yeah,' said Harry. 'It was weird to be honest. I found out that some house elf has been stopping my letters all summer. Then he turned up in Privet Drive and told me I couldn't go back to school this year. He ended up doing magic in the house, so that's why the Dursleys locked me up.'

'What house elf?' demanded Carina.

'Said his name was Dobby.'

Carina almost dropped the scoop of beetle eyes that she had been pouring into a paper bag. 'That's our house elf! He's the Malfoys'!'

'What?' gasped Harry, Ron and Hermione all at the same time.

Carina glanced around to make sure the coast was clear, then lowered her voice. The others leaned in to listen. 'I knew Lucius was up to something. Dobby has been acting very strangely, as though he can't tell me something important. I'm not a Malfoy so I don't have any power over him. And I overheard my aunt and uncle a couple of weeks ago. Lucius was saying that he had to act.'

'What do you mean had to act?' frowned Harry.

'I don't know, I only heard part of the conversation. But it definitely sounded like he was planning something. What did Dobby say was going to happen at Hogwarts?' Carina had deliberately chosen to keep quiet about what she heard about her mother during the same conversation.

'He didn't really,' whispered Harry. 'Just said that terrible things would be happening at Hogwarts.'

The four of them exchanged ominous looks.

'But what could Lucius Malfoy really do at Hogwarts?' asked Hermione.

'He is a school governor,' mused Carina. 'But I can't imagine him being able to cause any real trouble with Dumbledore there.'

'Dumbledore being there didn't stop Quirrell being a maniac and having You Know Who in the back of his head,' muttered Ron. He glanced at his watch. 'Right we better go to Flourish and Blotts. Mum will have a fit if we're late.'

When the four of them arrived at the bookshop, it was considerably busier than it had been earlier in the day. A lot of excitable, middle-aged witches were milling around and the reason soon became clear.

'Gilderoy Lockhart book signing,' sighed Mrs Weasley happily, once the four friends had grabbed their textbooks and gone to join the adults in the queue. 'Oh isn't it lucky that we chose today to come into town?'

'Yeah, really lucky,' muttered Ron, as a photographer trampled on his feet.

Carina had to bite her tongue to keep herself from laughing when, a few moments later, Lockhart spotted Harry in the queue and summoned him to the front for a photo shoot. Carina had never seen Harry look so uncomfortable and, when the famous author finally relinquished his grip on Harry's shoulder, Harry darted back into the crowds as quick as a Nimbus.

'That was hilarious,' she laughed, as the four of them made their way to the back of the shop.

Harry scowled at her. 'Yeah, wonderful.'

'I'm going to get that photo framed for your birthday when-'

Carina broke off. Two horribly familiar blonde heads were weaving their ways through the crowd. For one moment Carina considered ducking behind the stand of _Encyclopedia of Toadstools_ but, too late, her uncle and cousin had spotted her.

Lucius surveyed the scene, taking in his niece's shopping companions. Several blood traitors, a muggle born and the Boy Who Lived: jackpot.

'What are you doing, Carina?' he snapped. 'Come on, we're going home.'

Sensing it was futile to argue, Carina turned to say a glum goodbye to the others. 'I'll see you on the train. Write to me, won't you?'

'Definitely,' said Harry, who was watching Lucius with dislike. 'See you.'

'Well, well well- Arthur Weasley.' Lucius had spotted Ron's father and apparently could not miss the opportunity to gloat.

'Busy time at the Ministry, I hear. All those raids... I hope they're paying you overtime. Obviously not. Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?'

Lucius had reached into Ginny's cauldron, where she had been storing her books, and pulled out a battered second hand textbook. Carina truly hated her uncle at that moment. She knew Ron's family were very poor, certainly in contrast to the wealthy Malfoys. Still, every one of the Weasleys she had met was a damn sight nicer than her own relatives.

'We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy,' muttered Mr. Weasley, who had gone very red in the face.

'Clearly. The company you keep Weasley... and I thought your family could sink no lower.'

A lot of things suddenly happened at once. Mr Weasley knocked the others aside and threw himself at Lucius, who was knocked backwards into a shelf. Heavy books rained down, hitting not only the two fighters, but also several by-standers. To Carina's delight, Draco received a smart rap on the ear from a particularly big volume. Fred and George were cheering their father on, Mrs Weasley was shouting very loudly, and a panicky shop assistant was trying to break things up with absolutely no success. In the end, it took Hagrid, who had been drawn in by the noise, to prise Lucius and Arthur apart.

With a final goodbye to her friends, Carina followed Lucius and Draco out of the shop. Her uncle was looking very ruffled and incredibly angry. Draco looked unnerved and kept glancing up at his father. Only Carina was at ease. In fact, she was enjoying the fact that her uncle had just been set upon by a 'blood traitor,' especially since the fight had done a very good job of messing up Lucius' normally sleek hair.

/

There wasn't much time left of the summer holidays but it was safe to say that the remaining days were not much fun for Carina.

Lucius was furious about the altercation in Diagon Alley, and had told Carina in no uncertain terms what he thought of her friends. She had been treated to a long lecture about the perils of associating with such riff-raff and subsequently banned from using her owl to write letters.

Carina was not especially bothered by this punishment. The Malfoys were not the most observant jailers and she managed to explain to her owl the importance of not delivering letters to her in person. Instead, the owl was to leave them in a specific place in the ground where Carina could retrieve them.

What interested Carina the most was Lucius' sudden attempt at squashing the Gryffindor out of her. Until then, her aunt and uncle had been treating her school house and friends as something to not be mentioned, as if it were a blip she would soon recover from. Carina remembered the conversation she'd overheard, where Lucius seemed genuinely concerned that, if her parents were released from prison, they would blame the Malfoys for Carina being a blood traitor.

Well, Lucius' efforts at discipline had only made her more determined to stand out from the Malfoys. Carina had now gotten into the habit of wearing her Gryffindor colours around the house and making comments such as 'we could learn a lot from muggles' wherever possible. Lucius had noticed all of this but remained silent; instead, a vein had throbbed painfully in his forehead.

Carina also spent the last few days of the summer holidays trying and failing to get information out of Dobby. All the house elf would say was that terrible things were to happen at Hogwarts this year. He would not elaborate on what those things were, nor would he even confirm Lucius' involvement. Dobby just kept repeating that Hogwarts was not safe and that Carina must convince Harry Potter to remain safe at home. Carina had tried explaining that Harry was miserable with the muggles, that Hogwarts was perfectly safe with Dumbledore as headmaster, but Dobby had merely shaken his head sadly and insisted that they were all in danger.

All things considered, Carina was very relieved when the first of September came around. She was even nice to Draco over breakfast that morning, so happy was she to finally be going home to Hogwarts.

The three Malfoys plus Carina journeyed to King's Cross together and, the moment they were on the platform, Carina said a quick goodbye to her aunt and uncle and hurried onto the train.

She wandered along the train, searching for either an empty compartment or her friends if they were there yet. She found Hermione sitting alone, working her way through one of Lockhart's books.

'Hello,' grinned Carina, pulling open the door and taking a window seat opposite Hermione.

'Hi Carina,' smiled the other girl. 'I hope the Malfoys weren't too awful after Diagon Alley?'

Carina shrugged. 'Nothing I can't handle. Boys not here yet?'

'No, I've not seen them.' Hermione opened the window and stuck her head out. 'No, can't see them on the platform.'

'They'd better hurry up,' muttered Carina, glancing at her watch.

'Typical,' sniffed Hermione. She looked down at her book cover. 'What do you think of the Lockhart books by the way?'

Carina rolled her eyes. 'They're ridiculous! Have you read _Gadding with Ghouls_ yet? He says he trapped one with a tea strainer!'

To Carina's surprise, Hermione flushed bright pink. She muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'that was my favourite bit' before hiding behind her book again.

Carina laughed. 'Oh come on! Please don't tell me you're actually enjoying them?'

Hermione seemed to have gone temporarily deaf because she continued to ignore Carina in favour of reading her book. Carina laughed again and relaxed back into her seat as the train began to pull out from the station. After about five minutes, she got up and stuck her head out of the door. She glanced up and down the corridor but there were no familiar mops of black and ginger hair in sight.

'I'm not sure where the boys have got to,' she commented, sitting back down.

Hermione finally looked up from her book and frowned. 'Maybe they've got a different compartment and are waiting for us?'

'Yeah maybe. I'll go and have a look shall I?'

Carina left Hermione in the company of Lockhart and wandered out into the corridor. She ran into Dean, Seamus, Pavarti and Lavender a few compartments down and popped in for a quick hello. None of them had seen Harry or Ron. Neville Longbottom turned up a bit further down the train, chasing after his toad as usual.

'Hey, Neville.'

'Oh, hello Carina. Good summer?' Neville lunged for Trevor and managed to grab him between his pudgy hands.

'Not really. Listen, have you seen Harry and Ron?'

'No, not yet. And I've been all up the train looking for Trevor.'

Carina pointed Neville in the direction of Dean and Seamus' compartment and continued her search of the train with renewed vigour. Perhaps the Weasleys had been late? There certainly a lot of them to get ready on time. A few compartments down, however, she spotted Fred and George.

Carina opened the door to the compartment, where the twins were sat with Lee Jordan, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnett.

'Alright Carina?' asked George. 'I hope Lucius' black eye has not gone down?'

Normally Carina would have laughed but she was starting to get a bit concerned. 'You two haven't seen Harry or Ron have you?' she asked the twins.

'No,' said Fred. 'We went through the barriers before them. Ginny and Percy are here though, they can't have been far behind.'

'I can't find them anywhere on the train.'

Fred waved this away without concern. 'Ron's probably gone to get a head start on the lunch trolley. I wouldn't worry.'

'Yeah, maybe.' But as Carina left the compartment, she was beginning to get very concerned. A quick scout of the rest of the train did not turn up the boys, so she hurried back to Hermione, hoping they had somehow missed each other.

Hermione, however, was sitting alone still reading.

'Hermione, they're not on the train.'

She sat up and flung the book aside. 'What do you mean they're not on the train? Do you think they were late?'

'No. I've seen the twins and Percy and Ginny. It's just Harry and Ron who aren't here.'

Hermione bit her lip and looked worried. 'What if something's happened to them? Maybe the house elf was right?'

'Surely nothing could happen at King's Cross? At least not without Ron's parents noticing.'

'I don't know, Carina. Maybe.'

To Carina and Hermione's increasing panic, the boys did not make an appearance for the entire train journey. By the afternoon, other people had noticed their absence. Neville had popped in to say hello and then spread concern amongst the rest of the Gryffindors. Just as they were arriving at Hogsmede station, Fred and George appeared looking, for once, slightly nervous.

'What could have happened to them?' wondered George. 'They were right behind us all. It doesn't make sense.'

'Right, once we get up to the castle we'll tell the teachers,' decided Hermione. 'It might be that they just missed the train. Maybe they even sent an owl ahead to explain.'

'We could even tell Hagrid on the platform,' suggested Carina.

'Let's do that,' agreed Fred. 'I'm sure nothing bad's happened but Hagrid'll know what to do in any case.'

The four of them climbed off the train onto the dark, cold platform. As soon as Hagrid appeared to shepherd the new arrivals to the boats, Carina darted over to explain what had happened.

'Not on the train, you say?' frowned Hagrid. 'Right, I'll let Dumbledore know as soon as we're up to the castle.' He caught sight of the worry on Carina's face. 'Don't get yourself worked up, I'm sure they just missed the train. Still, it does all happen to you four, don't it?'

Carina hurried back to the others and climbed into a carriage with Hermione and the twins. Neville clambered in after them followed by Percy, much to Fred and George's horror.

'What's this I hear about Ron not being onboard?' he asked his brothers sharply.

Fred rolled his eyes. 'The current theory we're working on is that You Know Who's come back from the dead to kidnap them, Perce.'

Percy was not impressed. 'Do not joke about that kind of thing, Fred!'

'We've told Hagrid,' interjected Carina. 'He's going to let Dumbledore know.'

'Well that's something,' huffed Percy. He glowered at the twins for good measure.

'Don't worry, Perce. Ron'll be fine,' said George reassuringly.

Fred grinned at his twin. 'Yeah, and if he's not, the sympathy vote might win you head boy after all.'

Percy did not talk to his brothers for the rest of the journey.

/

By the time they had reached the castle and were making their way into the Hall, Hermione had become incredibly agitated.

'Carina, it's too much of a coincidence that Dobby warned Harry not to come back and now he's disappeared! And Ron, he must have got caught up in whatever's happened...'

'Hermione!' said Carina firmly as they sat down at the Gryffindor table. 'You need to pull yourself together. We have absolutely no proof that anything bad has happened to them. The teachers are aware. We will find out where they are.'

Hermione nodded but didn't look particularly convinced. Meanwhile, the other Gryffindor second years took seats around them.

'Any news?' asked Dean, a muggleborn boy with a passion for West Ham football team.

'Nope,' said Carina. 'We're hoping they just missed the train.'

Seamus took a seat opposite Carina and helped himself to a glass of pumpkin juice. 'No surprise that it's Harry missing, is it?'

'Maybe it's something to do with the Philosopher's Stone. Maybe Quirrell never really died and he's back for revenge,' speculated Neville wildly.

Suddenly, there was a great deal of commotion from the Entrance Hall. The students that were still making their way into the feast were shouting and whooping.

'...right into the Whomping Willow!'

'Absolutely classic. What an entrance.'

'Surprised they weren't crushed!'

Lee Jordan hurried along the Gryffindor table and threw himself into a seat between Carina and George. 'You'll never believe what I've just seen!'

Everyone in the vicinity leaned in close in intrigue.

'Harry and Ron have just flown a car into the grounds. They've hit the Whomping Willow!'

His words had quite a response from the other Gryffindors: Hermione gasped and clapped her hands to her mouth; Fred and George exclaimed 'why didn't they take us' at the exact same time; and Neville just gaped open-mouthed, as though he had never heard such a story.

'Are they alright?' demanded Carina. She did not know what the Whomping Willow was, but the choice of adjective in the name did not sound promising.

'Yeah they looked fine. Snape's got them,' explained Lee.

Everyone exchanged horrified looks. If Snape had been the ones to catch Harry and Ron flying a car into a tree, their prospects did not look good.

'Oh my goodness,' muttered Hermione, her head in her hands. 'They're going to be expelled

'Cheer up, Hermione,' said George. Food had appeared on the table, and he helped himself to shepherd's pie as he spoke. 'Dumbledore won't let Harry Potter get expelled, will he?'

'They bloody should get expelled,' muttered Fred. 'Why couldn't they have called us back?'

The feast was as delicious as usual but Carina was desperate for it to end. Ginny Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor, which was a nice interlude to the flying car drama, but, by the time Dumbledore sent them off to bed, Carina was bursting to see the boys.

Harry and Ron were not in Gryffindor Tower so Carina took an armchair by the fire and sat down to wait for them. That's if they ever did arrive that was- she was sceptical that Snape would relinquish an expulsion opportunity without a fight.

All the common room could talk about was the flying Ford Anglia. The first years got themselves all worked up and had to be told to quieten down by an irate Percy. The other second years joined Carina by the fire and they spent a good hour or so discussing the matter.

Only Hermione did not seem keen to join in. She bade Carina goodnight far earlier than normal and disappeared off to the girls dormitory.

Perhaps ninety minutes or so after they'd returned to the tower, the portrait hole opened and two boys climbed in. The rest of the house exploded in cheers and frantic questions.

Looking taken aback, Harry and Ron pushed their way through the crowd towards the other second years.

Carina jumped up from her seat immediately. 'What's the matter with you two? Have you gone mad?'

'Keep your hair on! We couldn't get through the barrier!' protested Ron.

'What? Why?' asked Carina, distracted.

Harry gave her a pointed look at the crowds who were eagerly listening in. 'Tell you tomorrow. I'm off to bed.'

'Well, try not to do anything illegal on your way up the stairs,' muttered Carina.

She watched as Harry and Ron made their way to the boys staircase.

'You know what, I might turn in too,' said Seamus casually.

Dean faked a yawn. 'Yeah I'm done for.'

'Me too!' said Neville, catching on.

Carina rolled her eyes as the three boys raced after Harry and Ron.

Feeling tired herself after the stress of the day, she bade goodnight to Pavarti and Lavender and headed up to her own dormitory.

Unsurprisingly, Hermione was still awake. She was sat up in bed working her way through yet another Lockhart book.

'Well,' she demanded of Carina, as the other girl changed into her pyjamas and got into bed. 'Have they been expelled?'

'No. They're fine by the looks of things. Got away with it.'

Hermione managed to look both relieved and outraged at the same time.

Carina couldn't help laughing. 'Come on, I know you're pleased they're still here.'

'Well of course I am! But it was very dangerous of them. They might have crashed! Or what if a Muggle had seen them?' Hermione ran her hand through her bushy hair, apparently very concerned about the extent of rule breaking that had occurred that day.

Carina climbed into her own bed and grinned. 'Come off it Hermione. You know without them life would be very boring.'

'Hmph,' said Hermione.

 **Thanks for reading everyone. And a massive thanks to those of you that have reviewed. Please keep them coming- literally any comments or suggestions are massively appreciated.**

 **Thanks to sharkdude, alexc1209 and moonlightdragonemperor for reviewing the previous chapter.**

 **The chapter will see second year get properly underway: Lockhart; some conflict with Draco; and, of course, the first attack on Mrs Norris. Only this time Harry will not be the only Parselmouth in the castle...**

 **Please keep reading, following and reviewing.**

 **Until next time...**


	7. Year Two: Part Two

The next morning, Hermione remained huffy about the flying car incident. As the Gryffindor girls got ready for the day, Pavarti and Lavender were chattering away about it. For some reason, they seemed to find the boys' actions quite attractive.

'It's very brave, really, isn't it?' said Lavender, as she packed her pencil case into her bag.

'I'll say!' agreed Pavarti. 'I mean they're quite dare devil aren't they, especially after last year?'

Carina bit her lip to keep herself from laughing, but Hermione shook her head in irritation.

'Are you coming down to breakfast?' asked Lavender.

'We'll catch you up,' said Carina. Hermione was trying to fit all the Lockhart books into her bag with no success.

'Do you really need all of those?' she asked skeptically.

'Yes,' snapped Hermione. 'They're textbooks and we might need to refer to them today.'

'Okay, okay. Don't bite my head off.'

Carina and Hermione left the dormitory and made their way out of the common room and down for breakfast. Hermione's mood was not improved when they passed a group of excitable Gryffindor first years. One particularly small boy, who wore a muggle camera around his neck, was re-enacting the Ford Anglia hitting the Whomping Willow to general applause.

Hermione made an irritable sound and did not speak when they sat down for breakfast with the boys. Instead, she propped yet another of Lockhart's books against the milk jug and began to read.

'So why couldn't you get through the barrier at King's Cross?' asked Carina as she helped herself to scrambled eggs and bacon.

'Don't know,' said Ron thickly, half way through a bacon sandwich. 'Sealed itself somehow.'

'I still can't believe you didn't get expelled,' muttered Carina. 'Snape must have been baying for blood.'

'Oh he was desperate to get us out,' complained Harry in disgust. 'Dumbledore rescued us. We've just got a detention and a letter home. Well, my aunt and uncle will only be disappointed that the tree didn't squash me.'

'Lucky you,' muttered Ron darkly. 'Mum will kill me, just wait and see.'

Hermione made a noise from behind her book.

Ron fired up immediately. 'I suppose you think we deserve what we got?'

Hermione raised her head above the Lockhart book and sniffed. 'You did steal a car, fly it in broad daylight and crash into an old and valuable tree. I'm surprised you got away with only a detention to be honest.'

'What do you think of this?' Ron demanded of Carina.

Carina had been hoping that if she busied herself with pouring tea for everyone, she wouldn't have to get involved. Unfortunately not so. 'Well, I mean it was a cool way to arrive and everything, but you could have just sent an owl when the barrier wouldn't open.'

'God you two are such kill joys,' muttered Ron angrily. He violently stabbed a sausage with his fork.

'Excuse me, Ron. But we spent most of yesterday worried about where you were!' Carina was getting wound up herself now. 'Hermione's only annoyed with you because she was so concerned yesterday about what had happened to you both!'

The boys exchanged slightly sheepish looks. Harry opened his mouth to say something when they were suddenly all distracted. A grey mop head had bounced off of Neville's face and landed in the middle of the table, knocking over a jug of pumpkin juice.

'Errol!' Ron retrieved a red envelope from what turned out to be a very old owl.

'It's alright, he's still alive,' said Hermione reassuringly.

But Ron did not seem bothered about the owl's well being. Instead, he was staring in horror at the small, red letter in his hands. Carina could not resist sniggering as the envelope began to smoke at the edges.

Mrs Weasley's voice filled the hall. It was so loud that the fork on Carina's plate began to clatter around. Ron looked on in horror as the letter continued to yell at him for bringing shame on the family. When it finally stopped, it took a good couple of minutes for chatter to resume in the hall.

Ron was as a red as a tomato, Harry very pale.

'Don't you dare say I deserved that!' Ron pointed his finger at Carina and Hermione, but his voice shook.

The girls took one look at each other and burst out laughing.

/

To Carina's delight, she received full marks in all her summer holiday homework. Even Snape, who refused on principle to praise anyone but Slytherins, had grudgingly scrawled complimentary feedback on the bottom of her essay. McGonagall had been much more vocal and had called Carina back at the end of Friday's lesson.

'This is just outstanding,' said McGonagall. The Transfiguration teacher was sat behind her desk, gesturing at Carina's summer essay. 'I'd be happy if an OWL student presented me with this. Very happy in fact.'

Carina tried to look modest. 'Thank you, Professor.'

McGonagall eyed her beadily. 'You must read a lot.'

'There's not much else to do during the summer,' admitted Carina.

'Well I am impressed, Miss Lestrange.' McGonagall rifled through some paperwork on her desk and pulled out a sheet of parchment. 'Here, take this away and have a read of it.'

Carina glanced at the title. 'Medal for Magical Merit?'

McGonagall nodded. 'It's an award given to exceptional students across the European wizarding schools. You need to be at least fourteen to qualify, then a teacher recommends you and the panel will judge your suitability. It's very prestigious. I believe only a few Hogwarts students have received them over the years.'

Carina was taken aback. 'Do you think I'm good enough?'

'Certainly,' said McGonagall briskly. 'Or you will be in a couple of years, at least. Now, since you're ahead in my class, I need to find something for you to do.'

McGonagall handed her two heavy books on magical theory and a copy of Transfiguration Today. 'I've marked the relevant articles for you. This should keep you going for a while.'

'Thank you, Professor.'

McGonagall nodded. 'That's quite alright. Go on, go and enjoy your first weekend.'

Carina thanked her head of house once more and hurried away with her new reading material. She smiled all the way back to Gryffindor Tower.

/

The next morning, on the first Saturday of term, Carina, Hermione and Ron had a long, leisurely breakfast with the other Gryffindors. Harry did not join them, having been summoned down to the Quidditch pitch at some ungodly hour by Oliver Wood.

After as many bacon sandwiches and cups of tea as they could manage, the three of them wandered slowly down through the grounds with the plan to meet Harry on his way back up.

To their surprise, the team hadn't even started practicing yet.

'We'll save you some toast for when you finish,' Carina said to Harry, who was looking enviously at the extra food they had brought down with them.

But the three of them had barely been sat in the stands for five minutes when seven figures clad in green strode across the pitch.

'Oh I don't believe it!' muttered Carina in outrage. She had caught sight of the smallest boy on the team. Draco looked even smugger than usual, in his new Quidditch robes and clutching the Nimbus 2001.

Carina gasped as she took in the rest of the scene. She nudged Ron and his mouth fell open in horror- all seven of the Slytherin players were holding brand new broomsticks.

Anticipating trouble, Carina jumped up and hurried across the pitch to the Gryffindor team. Hermione and Ron darted along behind her.

'Oh look a pitch invasion,' laughed Marcus Flint.

Carina ignored him and glared at her cousin. It was one thing for Lucius to buy Draco the best broomstick around. It was quite another for him to supply them to the whole Slytherin team and buy Draco's spot on the squad. Happy that he had irritated his cousin and the other Gryffindors, Draco merely smirked smugly back.

It was Hermione who voiced what Carina was thinking. 'At least no one on the Gyffindor team had to buy their way in. They got in on pure talent.'

Draco flushed around his cheekbones but recovered quickly. 'No one asked your opinion you filthy little mudblood.'

A lot of things happened at the same time. Carina pulled her wand from her robes, ready to shout whatever curse came into her head at Draco. Unfortunately Angelina, who had been standing in front of her, grabbed Carina's wand arm just in time ('Don't he's not worth it!') Fred and George, meanwhile, had tried to launch themselves at Draco; they had only been unsuccessful because Flint had jumped in front of his new seeker, while Oliver Wood had grabbed onto the back of the twins' robes. Alicia Spinnett and Katie Bell were shaking their fists at Draco and shouting their disgust.

'How dare you!' Carina shouted at her cousin. Angelina was still holding tightly onto her wand arm. Unfortunately, she had a lot more physical strength than Carina, who was unable to shake her off and throw a curse.

Ron, however, did not have the same problem. He pulled out his own wand and pointed it threateningly at the Slytherins. 'You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!'

There was a flash of light and Ron was knocked off his feet and thrown backwards several feet.

'Ron!'

Carina, Hermione and Harry ran over to Ron, who was lying on the grass looking very green. Harry helped him into a sitting position, after which Ron promptly vomited up slugs.

'Let's take him to Hagrid. He'll know what to do.'

With the Slytherins roaring with laughter in the background, Carina, Hermione and Harry helped Ron stumble back up the grounds to Hagrid's hut.

Hagrid did not seem particularly shocked when someone arrived throwing up slugs on his doorstep. After hurrying Ron away from his precious vegetable patch, he set a large bucket down at Ron's feet and made a pot of tea as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

'Who was Ron trying to curse anyway?' asked Hagrid once he had supplied everyone with tea and homemade scones.

'Malfoy,' said Harry angrily. 'He said something about Hermione.'

Hermione looked anxiously over at Ron who had his head in the bucket. 'I don't know what he meant, of course. But I could tell it was really bad. Oh Ron, you didn't have to do that.'

Ron waved her concerns away. 'He called you the worst thing he could possibly think of.'

Carina took a large gulp of tea and then practically slammed her mug back on the table. 'He called her a mudblood, Hagrid.'

Hagrid looked very shocked. 'No, he did not!'

Ron nodded and opened his mouth to say something. Unfortunately a fresh wave of slugs came out instead.

'What's a mudblood?' urged Harry.

'It's a foul name for someone who is muggleborn,' explained Carina through gritted teeth. 'You can imagine what it means, dirty blood, unworthy blood. People like the Malfoys use it because they think their own bloody purity makes them special.'

Harry looked disgusted, Hermione taken aback.

'Wouldn't have thought he'd say that at school in front of people,' muttered Hagrid. 'At home, yes, but you can't say that sort of stuff.'

'He doesn't care, Hagrid,' said Carina shortly. 'He genuinely believes that being rich and inbred makes him better than people like Hermione.'

Hagrid shook his head and patted Hermione sympathetically on the hand. 'You listen here, Hermione. I don't want you to pay any attention to that rubbish about bad blood. After all, they've yet to think of a spell you can't do.'

Hermione flushed bright red and hid her face in her mug of tea.

They stayed at Hagrid's for most of the day- although they were sensible enough to refuse lunch. By the time they walked back up to the castle, the smell of dinner was wafting in from the Great Hall. Ron had largely stopped throwing up slugs and Hermione had cheered up a lot.

Carina, however, was still furious at her cousin. She barely spoke to the others as they ate their way through cottage pie and apple crumble. Instead, Carina found she could barely raise her cutlery to her mouth without her hands shaking in rage.

The audacity of Draco appalled her. She had always known how much faith the Malfoys put in blood status. The Manor was practically a shrine to centuries of magic and lineage- all oil paintings and Dark family heirlooms as far as the eye could see. But to have Draco finally put those beliefs into words, to actually use them against someone as though it proved his own superiority, absolutely disgusted her.

Carina was only knocked out of her thoughts when Professor McGonagall arrived looking stern.

'Potter, Weasley, you are to serve your detentions tonight.' Her lips narrowed as the two boys audibly sighed. 'Do not look like that, you deserve this! Weasley, you're to help Mr. Filch polish the trophy room. Potter, you're to go to Professor Lockhart's office. I believe he wants your help in answering his fan mail.'

Harry looked appalled. 'What? Oh, can't I go to the trophy room too?'

'Absolutely not! This is not a treat you know. Besides, Professor Lockhart has asked for you personally.'

With that as her parting words, McGonagall hurried away to tell off some first years who were making quite the racket a way down the table.

'This is a disaster!' exclaimed Harry in horror. He ran his hands through his hair in despair, although the only purpose this served was to make it look even messier than usual.

'What about me?' protested Ron. 'Detention with Filch! I'll be there all night.'

Hermione remained silent. Carina suspected that, had Ron not jumped to her defence with Draco earlier, she would have told the boys they deserved the detentions.

After dinner, the four of them returned to Gryffindor tower and took seats in the common room. After an hour or so, the boys grumpily got up from their armchairs and traipsed off for their detentions, both of them looking thoroughly fed-up.

Hermione had spread books out across a table and was working on a Defence Against the Dark Arts essay that was far longer than Lockhart had asked for. Carina tried not to laugh. She had finished her own homework and was reading a book about the discovery of the Wolfbane Potion.

The two girls sat there in comfortable silence until Fred and George started making a commotion. Judging by Percy's yelling, they seemed to have set off fireworks in the sixth year dormitory, causing their brother to jump out of his skin in shock. Percy had chased the twins down the staircase and was now shouting at them in front of the entire house.

After a good half an hour of listening to the Weasley brothers argue, Hermione huffed irritably and picked up her work. 'I'm going to finish this off upstairs. I can't concentrate.'

Carina said goodnight and tried to carry on reading. However, the twins had managed to set off more fireworks, so it was quite hard to take in the words. She thought about going upstairs and reading in bed when a sudden idea struck her.

Acting completely on impulse, Carina left her book on the mantlepiece above the fire and hurried out of the portrait hole. She took the main staircase at a jog and didn't break stride until she'd reached the Entrance Hall. Another set of stairs and she was in the dungeons.

Carina deliberately kept her footsteps quiet. It was still half an hour before students had to be back in their common rooms, but she didn't want Snape catching her skulking around so far from Gryffindor tower.

Following a couple of Slytherins, Carina found herself in a long, dark corridor lit only by a few lamps. At one end stood a door that could only lead to the house common room.

'Excuse me!' she called out.

The two Slytherins, both fifth year girls whose names Carina did not know, turned to look at her.

'Can you please fetch Draco Malfoy for me? I'm his cousin and there's a family emergency.'

The two girls looked surprised but nodded and headed into their common room. A couple of minutes later, Draco emerged looking confused.

'What's going on?' he demanded, when he spotted Carina leaning against the wall. 'Something about mother and father?'

Carina remained silent and gestured her head towards an empty classroom. Draco followed her inside looking irritated. Carina closed the door quietly behind them.

A flicker of something that looked suspiciously like fear crossed her cousin's face. He seemed to have just noticed that he was trapped alone in a dark room. To add to his unease, Carina got out her wand and positioned it inches from Draco's throat.

'Now, listen here, my dear cousin.' Carina's voice was low and dangerous, even to her own ear. 'If you ever- and I mean ever- use that word in reference to Hermione again, I will make you regret it.'

Draco actually flinched at her words, as though she had already struck him with her wand. Carina knew she looked like she meant business; her face was smooth and calm but her eyes were blazing. Her voice sounded far too commanding for a thirteen year old girl.

She pressed the tip of her wand into the underside of his chin, just to make sure he got the point. 'Remember, Draco, remember that I am one hundred times better at magic than you. If I say I'll make you regret something, you know I will. Now, do we have an understanding?'

'Yes,' stuttered Draco.

Satisfied that she had scared him enough, Carina pocketed her wand. Draco didn't wait for her to say anything else. He threw open the door and hurried away down the corridor back to the safety of his dungeon common room.

Carina breathed deeply. That had felt _fantastic._ To finally put a sniveling, suck-up in his place, to remind him that his blood made no difference to his worth. She grinned and headed out of the classroom herself.

Carina jogged back up the main staircase, smiling to herself. Draco had seemed suitably intimated not to call Hermione a mudblood any time soon. She thought briefly about telling Harry and Ron what she had just done, but then thought better of it; this seemed like something that should be kept between her and her darling cousin.

Carina was on her way back to Gryffindor tower, somewhere near the third floor, when she heard someone talking. Except, it surely couldn't have been a student.

… _LET ME RIP! LET ME KILL... KILL... KILL_

Carina pulled her wand out and looked wildly around. The corridor was completely deserted. Yet she could hear that voice, as clear as if the speaker had been standing right beside her. It was blood-curdling, a truly awful sound that sent goosebumps up her arms.

'Who's there?' she called.

No response.

Feeling very exposed standing in a dark, empty corridor, Carina broke into a run and headed for the next set of stairs. She didn't slow down until she could see the comforting sight of the Fat Lady's portrait.

Once inside the common room, Carina threw herself into a chair and wondered what on earth she had just heard.

'Alright, Carina?' asked Seamus, looking up from a game of Exploding Snap he was playing with Dean.

'Yeah, I'm fine.' Her voice was not very convincing.

She grabbed the book she'd left on the mantle piece and pretended to read. It was only so that she didn't attract any attention. Really her mind was running at a thousand miles an hour. She had certainly heard a voice. But it did not sound human. Perhaps it was one of the ghosts, or another spirit that could make itself invisible?

Carina was so deep in thought that she barely noticed the common room empty around her. Seamus and Dean finished their game and said goodnight. Even the twins went up to bed before her, still laughing at their success in winding up Percy. It was only when the portrait hole opened that Carina gave a start and realised the room was empty.

'What are you still doing up?'

It was Harry, returning from his detention.

Carina double checked that no one was around and told him about the strange, threatening voice. To her surprise, Harry did not look concerned, rather, he looked relieved.

'Oh thank goodness! You can hear it too. I thought I was going mad when Lockhart didn't notice anything.'

'Wait, you heard it?'

'Yeah. I heard this really creepy sounding person say they wanted to kill and rip and stuff.'

Carina frowned. 'But, if you and I can hear it, why couldn't Lockhart?'

Harry shrugged. 'He was very preoccupied with his fan mail. Perhaps he just wasn't paying attention.'

'I don't know, Harry. That voice was so clear. I don't think I'd have missed it from miles away.'

'Yeah, me too,' muttered Harry, looking unnerved.

The portrait hole opened for a second time and Ron stumbled in, looking tired and fed-up. 'Had another slug attack all over a trophy, didn't I?' he exclaimed angrily when he spotted the other two. 'Some special services for the school award. Filch made me polish it about twenty times until he was happy. What's up with you two, you look pale.'

Harry quickly filled him in on the voice they had both heard.

Ron looked at them both and frowned deeply. 'Maybe it was a ghost?' he suggested uncertainly.

'Yeah, maybe.' Carina threw herself back against the cushions in frustration. She did not like not knowing something.

/

A few weeks later and Halloween was just around the corner. Carina was very much looking forward to the feast. She had heard good things about it but had not been able to attend last year due to the small matter of having to rescue Hermione from a mountain troll. Unfortunately, a few days before the night itself, Harry gave her some bad news.

Carina was sat alone by the fire in the common room. Harry was at Quidditch practice and Hermione had gone to the library to help Ron with his Potions homework. Carina was steadily working her way through a dense book on Transfiguration theory.

The portrait hole opened and a very muddy Harry walked into the common room, leaving a trail of dirty footprints behind him.

Carina raised an eyebrow. 'Fun practice?'

Harry threw himself into an armchair, apparently not caring that he was getting that filthy as well. 'Fine. But I ran into Filch on the way back and he tried to write me up for getting mud everywhere. What's a squib by the way?'

'A non-magic person born into a wizarding family. Why?'

Harry shrugged. 'Filch had a correspondence course for squibs.'

'Well I'm not surprised by that. Must be why he hates students so much.'

Harry glanced at Carina out of the corner of his eye. 'Fancy doing me favour?'

'Depends what it is.'

'I need a guest to bring to Nearly Headless Nick's death day party on Halloween. He got rid of Filch for me so I had to say I'd go.'

Carina considered it for a moment. A death day party might be interesting but then she'd be giving up the chance to gorge herself on Hogwarts' best food. 'But what about the feast?' she moaned.

'Oh please come. I don't want to go alone! Please.' Harry gave her what he obviously thought to be puppy dog eyes. 'Pretty please.'

'Oh alright fine. But I'm getting Ron to sneak me some pudding out of the Hall.'

Later that evening, up in the girls' dormitory, Carina filled Hermione in on the death day party.

'Wow that does sound interesting. I bet not many living people can say they've been to one of those,' said Hermione. The two girls were sat on Carina's bed in their pyjamas, working their way through a large pile of cauldron cakes. The sound of rain pounding against the windows made it feel very cosy.

Another voice suddenly joined in the conversation. It was Lavender Brown, who was sitting on her own bed flicking lazily through a magazine. 'Harry asked you to go to a party with him? Like a date?'

'Erm no, not a date,' protested Carina. She could practically feel her cheeks reddening, and she never got embarrassed normally.

'Sounds like it to me,' added Pavarti from the other side of the room. 'I mean he could have taken Ron but he chose you instead.'

'I think I was just the first person he ran into.'

Lavender waved this away. 'No chance. You know, I've always thought you two might get together at some point in the future. It'd be quite Romeo and Juliet, wouldn't it?'

'What's Romeo and Juliet?' asked Pavarti as Hermione rolled her eyes.

'A muggle play,' explained Lavender. 'Two teenagers fall in love but their families hate one another. It's all very romantic.'

'Yeah, until they commit double suicide at the end,' pointed out Carina. She appealed to Hermione for help while Lavender and Pavarti giggled in the background. 'Tell them they're being ridiculous.'

Hermione hesitated, clearly choosing her words carefully. 'Well, I suppose it wouldn't surprise me either if you and Harry did get together when we're older,' she said delicately.

'What?' yelped Carina. She had expected Hermione to see her point of view and back her up.

'Told you,' said Lavender triumphantly. 'Trust me, this is going to happen at some point.'

Carina made a sceptical noise and rolled her eyes dismissively. But later that night, as she was on the edge of falling asleep, she couldn't help think about what the girls had been saying. Could it be possible that Harry had something of a teenage crush on her? And were they as compatible as the other Gryffindor girls seemed to think? Carina had a sudden vision of telling Lucius that she was dating Harry Potter. Grinning to herself at this happy image, she rolled over and fell straight asleep.

/

To Carina's relief, none of the girls brought up her and Harry again, not even Hermione. Hoping to let the conversation fade away into memory, Carina did not broach the topic either.

On the evening of Halloween, she was almost regretting her decision to go to Nick's party. The smells from the kitchens were wafting throughout the whole castle. Hagrid had spent the best part of the week carving his enormous pumpkins and, according to Lee Jordan, a troupe of skeletons had been booked to perform during the feast.

Still, a promise was a promise so, while the others prepared themselves to eat the most food they'd consumed since Christmas, Carina got ready for the party. She had no clue how formal the event was so she chose her navy blue dress robes just to be on the safe side. She wove her thick, black hair into a neat knot, and even borrowed some mascara and lipstick from Lavender.

'You look great,' insisted Lavender, who was laying on her own bed watching Carina get ready. 'I hate how pretty you are.'

'Yeah you'll certainly show up all the dead people,' agreed Pavarti.

Carina wished them a good evening and headed down into the common room where she found Harry lounging in an armchair waiting for her. He had clearly not made the same level of effort. True, his robes were fresh and neat but his hair was as wild as ever. Trying not to laugh, Carina led the way out of Gryffindor Tower.

'You look nice,' said Harry. 'Do you think I'm under dressed?'

'Ghosts only have one outfit for eternity, Harry. I don't think they'll be judging you for wearing your school robes.'

They both exchanged wistful looks as they passed the Great Hall, where they could see live bats fluttering about the ceiling. Instead, they took another flight of stairs down to the dungeons. On the way down, they walked past Draco, flanked, as usual, by Crabbe and Goyle. He did a double take upon seeing Carina but, for once, remained silent. Carina smiled to herself and followed Harry.

As they descended into the dungeons, the sound of a thousand fingernails being scrapped against a blackboard greeted their ears. Nearly Headless Nick was standing at the door of one of the largest dungeons, greeting guests with a very solemn demeanour.

'Oh hello you two,' he nodded down at Carina and Harry. 'So pleased you could come. Do go in and meet my other guests.'

Carina followed Harry into the room. Although the dungeons were cold at the best of times, today it felt like stepping into a fridge. Ghosts of all shapes and sizes floated around the place, some dancing to the 'music,' others engaging in conversation.

'Let's get something to eat, shall we?' suggested Harry.

They moved towards a promising looking buffet table but then quickly recoiled at the sight of the food. Everything was rotting and giving off a strong smell.

'Wow, Harry, you really know the best places to take the girls, don't you?'

Harry glared at her. 'I'm hungry too, you know. Do you think we could just sneak out and go to the feast?'

'Maybe. Oh no, hide!'

'What are you on about?'

'That's Moaning Myrtle.' Carina pointed out the most miserable looking ghost in the place. A teenage girl with lots of spots, lank hair and thick glasses. 'She haunts a bathroom.'

'She haunts a bathroom?' Harry repeated, sounding appalled.

'Yes, I know, now hurry up!'

But it was too late. Myrtle had spotted them and was gliding over. She was the most downcast guest at the party, and that was saying something. As she surveyed Carina and Harry she couldn't even manage a smile.

Carina winced uncomfortably as Myrtle leant towards her. They weren't touching but it was still enough to drop Carina's body temperature by several degrees. Myrtle was analyzing Carina's face carefully.

'You're very pretty, you know,' Myrtle muttered resentfully. 'You look quite like this boy I used to know- '

Myrtle broke off. Peeves the poltergeist had arrived and was making his appearance known by pelting the crowds with peanuts. A particularly large handful struck Myrtle on the nose. She covered her face with her hands and stalked off.

Carina looked at Harry. 'That's what happens when you don't move quick enough.'

'Come on,' he muttered. 'Let's get out of here.'

The two of them made for the door but were unfortunately waylaid by Nick. He seemed to want Harry to tell his other guests how frightening a ghost he was. It was only when a game of headless polo got underway that Carina and Harry managed to sneak off.

They burst into the fresh air of the corridor, took one look at each other, and broke into laughter.

… _RIP... LET ME KILL... KILL... I SMELL BLOOD..._

Carina jumped a foot in the air and grabbed her wand. Next to her Harry abruptly stopped laughing and turned to her in horror. 'Did you hear that?'

… _TRAPPED FOR SO LONG... LET ME KILL..._

'It's moving!' yelled Harry.

He was right. The voice was gliding upwards as though solid floors and ceilings did not matter.

'Come on, don't let it get away!' shouted Carina.

They tore through a tapestry and raced up a concealed set of stairs that led all the way to the second floor. Carina strained her ears. 'Can you hear it?'

Harry shook his head. 'No. Perhaps it's g- Carina!'

Carina spun round to see Harry sprinting along the corridor. She took off after him and it didn't take long to see what had caught his attention.

Scarlet red letters had been smeared onto the wall.

 _THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE._

And beneath them, hung from a bracket by her tail was Mrs. Norris.

Carina took several steps back and grabbed Harry's arm.

'Move,' she urged.

'What?'

'We need to get out of here now.'

But it was too late. Footsteps were converging on all sides. The sounds of hundreds of students returning from a satisfying feast.

Those at the front of the crowds stopped in their tracks at the sight before them. Whispers and shouts shot through the mass of people.

'Come on, make way, make way!'

Attracted, as ever, by the chance to catch someone red-handed, Filch was shoving his way to the front of the crowds. His jowls were quivering with the excitement of apprehending a trouble maker.

The care taker's eyes fell upon his beloved cat, hanging like a corpse from the wall. His face switched from happy to murderous in the space of half a second. Without waiting for any explanation, he hurried towards Harry, his hands raised threateningly.

'You've murdered my cat.. you've...'

'Argus!'

Dumbledore was striding along the corridor, the crowds automatically parting at his approach. The headmaster's sharp blue eyes quickly swept over the scene.

'Prefects will lead their houses back to their common rooms immediately.'

The students hurried off, all of them whispering furiously at what they had just seen: a threatening message on the wall, Filch's cat immobilized, and Harry Potter and Carina Lestrange found at the scene of the crime.

'You two, come with me.'

Dumbledore led the way to Lockhart's office. Professors McGonagall and Snape hurried along in his wake, looking highly alert. Carina chanced a look at Harry. His pale face reflected her own intense worry. If Dumbledore believed Filch, well they might as well start packing their bags now.

Once inside the office, the headmaster leant over the cat, muttering incantations under his breath. The other teachers stood around waiting, all apart from Lockhart who was very excitable. He kept up a constant monologue of all the dangerous situations he'd found himself in over the years. Had Carina not already been risking expulsion, she would have been tempted to use _silencio_ on him.

'She has been Petrified,' announced Dumbledore finally.

Carina's mind was whirling. To petrify something took a hell of a lot of Dark Magic. Surely Dumbledore could not suspect two second years of it?

'It was him!' announced Filch, pointing at Harry. The caretaker was sitting in a chair crying loudly. 'He was the one who did it.'

'I didn't touch Mrs. Norris!' protested Harry angrily.

'No he didn't!' exclaimed Carina. 'We found her like that. We only got there thirty seconds before you did.'

Dumbledore held up a hand to quieten everyone. 'No second year could have done this,' he said firmly.

Snape moved out of the shadows. His expression was most odd. It was as if he found the situation highly amusing but was trying to show it. His eyes glinted as they considered Harry for a moment and then came to rest on Carina.

'Ah, but headmaster, if I may, we are not dealing with two ordinary second years here, are we? I for one can attest to the advance level of Miss Lestrange's magical abilities. I could not rule out her being capable of Petrifying.'

Carina was taken aback. It was one thing for Snape to dislike her for being a Gryffindor. It was quite another to accuse her of attacking Mrs Norris without a shred of evidence.

'Oh really, Severus,' snapped McGonagall. 'There is absolutely no reason to suspect either of these two.'

But Snape wasn't finished yet. His dancing eyes narrowed again. 'Oh I am not so sure about that Minerva. It is surely too much of a coincidence-'

'Severus!'

Snape fell into silence as Dumbledore gave him a very sharp look. McGonagall glanced between them, looking utterly confused.

'I will say it again that I do not believe Harry or Carina to be guilty of this.' Dumbledore looked back at them. 'But I must ask what you were doing there.'

'We were at a death day party, sir,' explained Carina, throwing a furious look at Snape who merely smirked back. 'Nearly Headless Nick invited us and we thought we should go to be polite. But it was not, shall we say, the best party in the world. So Harry and I decided we'd just go back up to the common room. We knew we'd missed most of the feast and we've got loads of cauldron cakes upstairs anyway.'

McGonagall nodded in satisfaction at the explanation. 'There you go. Happy Severus?'

But Snape merely shrugged and took a step back into the shadows. He continued to watch Carina with interest.

Dumbledore stared at Carina for a long time and then nodded. 'And you, Harry, do you have anything else you would like to tell me?'

'No, sir,' said Harry firmly.

Dumbledore sighed. 'Very well, you may both go back to Gryffindor Tower.'

Carina and Harry did not talk until they were out of Lockhart's office and half way up the staircase.

'Do you think we should have told Dumbledore about the voice?' asked Harry, his voice low and urgent.

'Definitely not. Harry, you and I heard a voice only we could hear and then Mrs. Norris was Petrified at the same time.'

Harry nodded and changed tack. 'Have you heard of the Chamber of Secrets?'

'Yes,' she admitted. 'It's in _Hogwarts: A History_ but it's supposed to be a myth.'

'What's the myth?'

'That Salazar Slytherin concealed a hidden chamber within the school. That said chamber contains a monster only the true heir of Slytherin can control.'

'Bloody hell,' muttered Harry under his breath. Then he frowned suddenly. 'What was Snape's problem in there?'

'I don't know,' admitted Carina honestly. 'I mean, I know he hates Gryffindors but, still, it was a bit much wasn't it?'

Harry nodded. 'Slimy git.'

The two of them fell into silence as they walked. Carina glanced at Harry out of the corner of her eye. Why was it just the two of them that could hear this mysterious voice? The Boy Who Lived and Bellatrix Lestrange's daughter- that was too much of a coincidence, surely?

 **So we've had the first hint of what Carina and Harry's relationship is going to turn into... We're also seeing the potential that is in Carina. She intimidates Draco for 'good' reasons but, in doing so, looks a lot like a certain other model student from fifty years ago.**

 **I know so far I've been pretty much following the books. From now on, things are going to go slightly off piste. The books will still form the basis for what happens, but we will start to see the Golden Trio do different things now that Carina is part of the group.**

 **Next chapter will feature: lots of suspicion towards Carina and Harry; Parseltongue; and more confrontation with Draco.**

 **Thank you so much for reading. Please please please leave me a review. Big thanks to sharkdude5, emeraldguardian7, alexc1209 and shottas for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are so lovely, it's hard to describe how nice it is to see a new review.**

 **Also, I'm going to France next week so the next chapter is probably a week/ 10 days away.**

 **xx**


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